It's been a rough couple of months. Starting with the death of my grandma on August 11, it's been one thing after another.
Last week was the roughest yet. The least of it has been our washer pooping out, forcing us to spend $450 we weren't intending on spending right now.
Then my husband got in a minor car accident, and he's since been dealing with a bit of neck pain.
Then, after a few weeks of a racing heart, lack of energy, and feeling like she was going to pass out, we took my 15-year-old daughter to the doctor. She had a blood test, which determined she is extremely anemic. As in, levels should be between 12-16 and hers were a 6.9. Yikes! That's blood transfusion-low. She is now on double doses of iron and hopefully when she goes back for her follow-up appointment later this month, she'll be doing better. In the meantime, her grueling marching band schedule, and the start of school will be a challenge until she's back to her normal energetic self.
The same day my daughter went to the doctor, my 18-year-old son started having pain in his left side. He chalked it up to...well...intestinal issues. But when the pain spiked on Thursday, I took him to Urgent Care. Turns out, he has a kidney stone. OUCH. They say this can be worse than labor. I've never had one of these annoying stones myself, but judging from my son's pain, I totally believe it! The poor kid.
The way it was explained to us is that kidney stones are shaped like snowflakes, with jagged edges. The ureter is very narrow, and as the stone makes its way south, it scrapes along the edges of the ureter, causing intense pain. Well, one whole week ago, the stone was halfway to the bladder. But despite doing all the right things (a.k.a. praying, drinking LOTS of water, and some deep breathing), it STILL hasn't passed.
Talk about frustrating!
Not only is it excruciating for my son, whose Labor Day off from work wasn't so relaxing, it's turned our household upside down. Just before the pain started, he'd emptied his entire room out, to re-organize, add a bookshelf, and clean his carpets. Because he can't lift anything and has been unable to put everything back (we offered, but he wants to do it himself), our basement is a disaster area. Which I could live with, except for the fact that we just adopted a DOG (may be posting more on that at some point). So the dog is limited to the main level until our basement is put back together.
Needless to say, we're ALL hoping this kidney stone will pass soon so life can get back to its normal chaotic state.
I've had "kidney stones" pop up in my everyday life, haven't you? Grief over the death of a loved one, illness, financial problems, marital issues, unexpected emergencies, rejection... I try to do the right things (a.k.a. praying, drinking in God's Word, deep breathing, and LOTS of chocolate), but those edges continue to irritate, scrape, and create a lot of pain (and tears!)
But, I try to remind myself (several times a day, if necessary), that THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
Eventually...painfully...but, most importantly, definitely.
Unlike real labor, my son won't have a baby at the end of all this. Sometimes life throws pain at us that won't produce anything good at all. At least not that we can see right away. And those are the toughest times of all. But God has a way of using our aches and pains to make us stronger, give us a better appreciation of how blessed we are, and bring us closer to Him.
What "kidney stones" do you have in your life at the moment? Are you doing the right things while you wait for them to pass?
