Praise You in this Storm

I was sure by now
that You would have reached down
and wiped my tears away.
Stepped in and saved the day
but once again, I say "amen" and it's still raining.

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
and takes away.

I'll praise You in this storm
and I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
no matter where I am.
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand.
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm.

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry.
You raised me up again.
My strength is almost gone.
How can I carry on
if I can't find You?

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
and takes away.

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth.

-Casting Crowns

optimistic

I'm back. It's been a long week since my last post, during which it has been confirmed that my body doesn't like being introduced to new drugs. The good news is, I'm not likely to ever become a drug addict.
My bronchitis induced asthma symptoms are improving, so that's more good news. The bad news is, as a side effect of either the inhaler or the antibiotics, I've developed a case of the shakes/tremors which is quite unnerving! Even typing this is kinda weird, because my fingers seem to have a mind of their own. My doctor (whom I've been with for about five months & who is amazing compared to my previous doctor) assures me that the tremor will be gone by tomorrow, because I can stop taking both of the meds effective immediately. The antibiotics seem to have cleared up the infection & he switched me to a less aggressive inhaler (which I can stop using as soon as I stop coughing).
He also intoduced me to a lovely non-medicinal treatment that I can use to help clear my blocked sinuses. It consists of spraying saline solution up into my nostrils & letting it drain back out. I anticipated it feeling similar to the time a thought I was drowning as a child, but it was surprisingly non eventful. Hopefully I was doing it correctly - a few more times & I should know if it helps.
So, there you have it - a sore throat that turned into five days off work (which is the equivilant of two weeks since I only work mon - wed). I'm optimistic that I will be feeling awesome by the weekend. I better be - there's a sisters weekend in Seattle in the immediate future!

sick, sick, very sick

This is a phrase I've used often in the 30+ years that we've had kids & then kidlets - most often referring to one of them or my husband. Today I'm ssvs. I've succumbed to one or more of the myriad bugs making the rounds. It all started with a sore throat beginning of last week - no big deal. Then it progressed to a productive cough alternating with a persistent hacking cough that made my throat (and the whole rest of me) sore again. This tuesday, my boss graciously sent me home with instructions not to return until I was symptom free (something about spreading influenza germs to my coworkers & the elderly residents) Okay, I thought a day or two of rest would work wonders, but I made a doctor appointment for this morning (the first I could get), just in case I was still coughing.
So, ya, over the last couple of days & nights the cough has persisted & I've started wheezing, especially at night, loud enough to wake the deaf (not a typo). This morning the Dr. tells me I've developed asthma to go along with the bronchitis. Not sure if the bronchitis is virul or bacterial, so I get a prescription for an inhaler & also for antibiotics to fill later if the inhaler doesn't do the trick.
On my way home I head over to Safeway (gotta get the airmiles) to pick up the inhaler. I'm standing there talking to one of the pharmacists when an older man comes to the wicket next to me & is giving his prescription paper to the other pharmacist. He's told that it will be about 25 minutes til it's ready and the guy just loses it - starts swearing & saying how he moved to Mission because the other pharmacies are always so slow. Really? Anyway, I impulsively said "sir, sir" and was planning to try to talk him down but apparently he was deaf in addition to being rude. As he walked away I commented to the pharmacists that some people are so disrespectful. We carried on, and when the pharmacist had my info, he told me it would be ready in 10 minutes.

HA - goes to show you that it's wise to be kind no matter how horrible you're feeling!

10 minutes later I was heading home with a gallon of grapefruit juice & my $90.00 inhaler (thank the Lord for health benefits). Now I'm praying it's effective, cause I'm tired of being sick, sick, very sick!!