Well I was recovering in the ICU I learned a lot of important lessons. One of which was to be grateful for so many things we take for granted. Let's be honest, we live in a material culture. Even the best christians among us suffer from this affliction of materialism. We want and we want. I was and am no different. I want a nice house, a big kitchen, a lovely bathroom, a cozy bedroom and I want it all just the way I like it. I want nice clothes and pretty mugs to drink my tea out of. I love these things. I love these big things I long for and these small things that bring me bursts of joy. But I learned the hard way that these things we cling to, these things we think we need, are not what God promises when He says He will provide.
A picture of one of my favourite mugs
Lets take a quick trip back to the book of Matthew in the bible.
Matthew 6:26
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow nor reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"
Remember that verse? Well, it's true. We are much more valuable to God than the birds of the air. He provided for me exactly what I needed while I was in the hospital. And He also taught me to be grateful for the little things. For the things that we consider basic, and take for granted.
One of those things?
Water.
Yep, you heard me right.
Water.
Pretty basic isn't it?
Well, when I was in the ICU and before my trach hole was corked, I longed for water. I just wanted a large glass to guzzle down. I would see the nurses casually walk the halls and take a swig from their water bottle. Of course, this is completely normal and nobody would think anything of it!
But me?
It felt torturous!
I hadn't had a drink of water for months. All my fluids and nourishment was sent to me through a tube. Trust me when I say: this is NOT the same. Nothing can compare to drinking a nice cold glass of ice water. And that's when I realized, that we don't know how good we have it. We do not thank the Lord for our fresh, clean water that we can drink anytime we please. Something so small and basic, but essential to our livelihood. We literally cannot survive without water. So when that trach came out, and they corked me....I was finally able to take small sips of water.
And for this, I was grateful 💜
Sometimes it takes losing something to appreciate it. And it wasn't just the water I was thankful for. It was God, who provided me that water.
Now, just to tie this whole water thing in nicely...let's not forget that Jesus is the the Living Water. That is because He quenches our spiritual thirst and He never runs dry. Get it? I do! It doesn't matter how much you crave Him, how much you need Him, how much you long for Him, He will always be there. He will never leave you or forsake you. He will comfort you and provide for you. And in my case He literally provided water for me: spiritually and physically 😉
Now, didn't that work out nicely?
Hebrews 13:5
"I will never leave you nor forsake you,"
Now, can we talk about a juice box? This may seem a little unorthodox but I will forever be grateful for this frozen juice box.
Before I was corked I was only allowed to have a few ice chips. One of my health care aids suggested freezing an apple juice and giving me that instead of just ice chips. Ohhhhh it was glorious!! What a blessing this idea was to me! It was by far one of the BEST things I had ever tasted. Now, this frozen apple juice launched into a frozen Berry Five Alive juice box. Well, and I thought the apple juice was good!
LET. ME. TELL. YOU.
This right here. This juice box! Chef's kiss! I was grateful for this. To this day I still think it's the best thing I have ever tasted! This was my make-shift "ice chips" until I was able to actually eat and drink something tangible. Seems silly perhaps, but to me, this was another small miracle the Lord provided for me. Was it necessary? Not at all. I could have survived with only regular ice chips but this showed me I was loved and cared for. This gave me something to look forward to and encouraged me to keep fighting. So ya, God cares. He cares a lot. He provides for us our basic needs, to which we are to be grateful; but he also provides loving bouts of joy. In my case in the ICU with a trach and feeding tube in....it was this juice box.
So remember...
1 Thessalonians 5:18
"give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
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