I've been stuck at home with chicken pox for 2 of the last 3 weeks. Yet in the midst of it, I see the hand of God. Our first case came the week of Thanksgiving. I was so thankful the Lord let us make it through our cruise before it came. We had a wonderful and simple Thanksgiving with my sister-in-law. It was a sweet time. Our first case of pox was very mild and I was so thankful for that!
Well, this past Sunday evening, I discovered the second case. Again, I am so thankful it has come this week and will be cleared up before Christmas descends and our travels commence. It has been a rather rough patch of chicken pox and I am very sleep deprived. In that sense, it has been discouraging because I have been slacking on my early morning time with the Lord and I can definitely feel the effects of not being in the Word and low on energy. God has been gracious, however, and I have just enjoyed my time with the girls, lowered my expectations for them and myself, and sought to use the slow time to get some things organized.
There are times when I can feel like an island. An island that is unreachable. As I look over the last 10 years, I see how the Lord has slowly changed me from being a "whirlwind on the go" to being content with long weeks at home where I go nowhere and see no one. As a rule, I am a very social person. I thrive on interaction with my friends. But God knows how to reach my heart and knows that in order for me to really stop and listen, sometimes He has to send me to "the island". I won't be here forever and the rat-race will soon resume. Learning to enjoy and appreciate the slow times is very important.
Monday comes quickly. There are lesson plans to be done, new projects to be started, chores to be maintained, lives to train. It is a good life - even when it exists on an island.
