Afflictions and Bandaids

I love Thanksgiving...I look forward to going to my aunt's house and seeing all of my family. Then, going with James and Joseph to pick out our Christmas tree the next day. Sadly, my Thanksgiving didn't turn out the way I had wanted it to.

On Monday, one of my eyes was a little itchy, a little puffy, and a little pink... but I was tired and came off of long weekend so I didn't think much of it.

Then on Tuesday, my eyes looked like this!


So... I went to the doctor and found out I had pink eye in both eyes. My husband said I looked like his bulldog Bert, so he affectionately called me "Bulldog Eyes".

Wednesday, I woke up with a bit of a sore throat, and some chills...and by the end of the day, I had a fever, and couldn't swallow without cringing...

On Thanksgiving I went to Urgent Care, and found out I had Strep Throat.

I was battling a fever everyday until this morning...and I have never had such a sore throat in my entire life...

Now for the important part...Throughout this entire week of sickness James and our parents have been so helpful in watching Joseph, checking up on me, and making sure that I am getting better. But even in the midst of that, I found myself praying to get better, and feeling so frustrated that I missed one of my favorite weekends in the entire year because of my illnesses. Then, James pointed me to part of a sermon by John Piper dealing with suffering as seen in the book of Job.

Piper reminds us that God allows afflictions and sickness to those he loves, to save us from evil deeds and our own pride... Quoting Piper, "Elihu does not picture God as an angry judge but as a Redeemer, a Savior, a Rescuer, a Doctor. The pain he causes is like the surgeon's knife, not like the executioner's whip."

So every time I get frustrated with the pain I feel when I swallow I am reminded that God has my best interest at heart...it still hurts really bad, but I am comforted to know that God has a purpose behind it.