(2) I have been sick.
Between being sick and having a funeral to attend, it's easy to get caught in the poor, poor, pitiful me's, like I did when I was first diagnosed with Hashimoto's. (Which, by the by, is even harder to eat for when your sick and ALL of your comfort foods are carbs.)
It's a good deal harder when you're dealing with problems to have a grateful heart, to think of all of the little gifts that God has given you along the way while he's been carrying you through your convalescence.
I don't mean the things he gives to everyone - like clean air, rain, sunshine, and making favorite foods delicious. I mean the things he's done for me in particular. And over the last week, there have been a lot of things he has done for me.
I was struck by this Saturday evening, when a coughing fit stopped me in the middle of a task and I had to spend a minute catching my breath and waiting for the ensuing headache to subside, and it occurred to me that God really has been taking care of me while I've been sick. Making sure I could take care of my family and adequately prepare for my class this coming week. Here are some of the things I have seen that he has done for me:
- I was well enough to go with Daniel to his friend's funeral last week.
- While I was feeling my worst, Pitter Patter slept more than usual.
- Gluten-free Ramen exists. There are a lot of options to replace my chief "I have a cold and want something to make me feel better" food.
- Daniel had a reason to stay home with us one day this week, so I wasn't trying to take care of Pitter Patter alone while I was sick.
- When Pitter Patter got better, so did Daniel.
- I found out I had misunderstood something in a document my OB had given me and I could have cough drops!
- On Thursday, when I was still feeling lousy, we were planning to cook, but I really wasn't feeling up to it. Then we had a string of minute-long power outages in quick succession, and since we weren't sure it was going to stay on long enough to cook, and we got take out instead. (A surprising number of Chinese dishes are usually gluten free! - none of my old favorites, but I'm discovering some new favorites!)
- We had a couple of friends over for dinner on Friday, and the dessert they brought was gluten free, dairy free, and incredibly tasty!
- We have a recliner, so when I couldn't lie down without coughing, I could sleep there - usually straight through the night.
- The humidifier filters I ordered at the beginning of the week came in Saturday, but we didn't realize it until we checked the mail Sunday. (It's been running continuously ever since, and I am feeling WORLDS better. Last night, I barely had to touch the salt water I've been gargling with all week at bedtime to help me breathe better at night.)
- I have access to a lot of gluten-free dairy-free food options, so I've been able to do an excellent job managing my Hashimoto's for the last week in advance of my class this week, and my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (which was heavily aggravated by Hashimoto's during my previous pregnancy) has not been bothering me at all this week.
- We had the right waitress at the restaurant we went to yesterday for my sister's birthday. She was really willing to try to help me out, since the restaurant's menu was very unfriendly to Hashimoto's disease and management was very flexible.
- There is a Whole Foods in the town where my class this week will be, so I should be able to continue managing my Hashimoto's disease very well, very easily, and have no problem taking my test on Friday.
It's important that we cultivate a spirit of gratitude in ourselves, so that we can model it for our families, and especially our children. What little things has God done for you lately?
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