4 months….since I’ve blogged. let me explain!
I never realized how crazy my life had become…until a few days ago. For 4 months now, I have been “doing the work of the Lord” and making sure my i’s were dotted and my t’s were crossed. I’ve been busily working at my “real” job making sure everybody else is doing their job.
I have singing some here and there. As a matter of fact, I booked a date to sing on the first day of our family vacation. Even though I had a great time at the church and the Lord blessed, my family probably would rather have had me with them.
My day usually starts at 6:30…Ella gets up at 7:30..I get her ready for her Nana’s…Go to work at 8:30…lunch at 1:00…home at 6:00 PM…play with the girls till 8:00 PM, when Ella and Carol go to bed…then from 8:00 until 12:00 PM or later I answer phone calls from the day, put together choir music, work on my solo stuff, work on group stuff…play on FaceBook…(You gotta have a little fun every once in a while)…then off to bed, if I can sleep, and at 6:30 it start all over again.
The weekends are usually full with family activities and church and home stuff….
I found myself struggling to pull all of it together and meeting all the deadlines that needed to be met. There were times that I just stared at the computer going…Ok, What is it I am supposed to be doing here?
It all changed for me on Friday, July 25. I was just finishing up my lunch and getting ready to go back to work when I started feeling this strange pain on the left side of my body. A very sharp pain that continued up my neck and down my arm….I felt dizzy, weak…I thought, NO….this can’t be happening! I began my search for someone to check my bp…I couldn’t find anybody.
This was a special day for a couple of reasons….Me and Carol were celebrating 10 years of marriage and my inlaws were celebrating 50 years. I did not have time to be sick and I would not tell Carol(as this was not the first time this pain had come my way). I could not ruin this special day for anybody!
Later that night I had another attack and finally confessed my sufferings and Carol freaked! She and friends begged me to go to the doctor but I wouldn’t go. I was fine by the end of the weekend. Even though my BP was peaking at around 163/111.
Since then, I have been to Promise Keepers in Atlanta, GA…I’ve been on 2-2 day trips for work…continued on as usual.
This past Monday I started getting what I thought was a sinus infection and was rubbing my head and eyes. On Wednesday, I had rash on my eye…the next day…some knots on my forehead…I thought it was nothing.
On saturday Morning I got up and could not open my right eye. I headed for the walk-in clinic…and with one look, the doctor says…Oh, you have shingles….On my head and on my eye? Aren’t people who are much older than me get that? What??????? He said that usually stress brings these demons on. Oh, I see….No doctor…There’s no stress in my life.
I mentioned my chest pain, they checked BP…it was 160/106. Not good….They immediately did an ekg and signed me up for a stress test today. (8/13/08)
My next three days, after my doctor visit and all the good news I had been given, I spent at home, under the care of my wife and friends. I started taking my bp pills and the pills for shingles and after a couple of days rest, I really started to feel good.
This is when I realized….I am the reason that I am sick. For me, I cannot say no. It’s just my nature. Today that all changes. I am learning to say no. I am learning to lay a little longer in the bed. I am learning to stop and pick Ella up when she tugs at my pants leg. I am learning that when I get the “look” from my wife, I am toooo busy and my wife needs me.
The results from the ekg and stress test were normal. no heart disease. No heart damage. Whew! I am blessed today! Thank you Lord! To be honest with you, the stress test was really stressing me out.
The shingles…..well, they are still red and swollen and a very clear reminder for me that it’s time to sit back and smell the roses and enjoy the life that God has created for me!
His word says to “Be still and know that I am God”. It’s time for me to be still, listen and wait on Him.
This was a huge wake up call for me….
Now, maybe I will have more time to blog!
I love you all!