With a Thankful Heart

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (New Living Translation)

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.


I wonder sometimes of bad things happen to people because God is trying to send them a wake up call. I think he has a hand in everything and things happen for reasons we do not understand and probably never will until we reach heaven. The reason I say this is because I came down with a case of shingles and it's not common under the age of 50. Well I am certainly not 50 by any means so it's possible I have a lowered immune system or I am stressed.

I might have been stressed because I am adjusting to being a stay at home mom and working outside the home gives you the opportunity to get away from your kids. Being home does not have that perk and you can't even go pee without some one hunting you down to see what you're doing. Even in public I pray that the handicapped stall is available to take both kids with me or squeeze three people, a purse and whatever toy they have into a small stall.

So lucky me I come down with a case of shingles the Thursday before July 4th weekend! Shingles is contagious to anyone who has never had chicken pox which meant I needed to stay away from my friend's children who are under the age of two. Talk about a sad weekend for me. If you remember my weekend plans included a birthday party for my friend's four year old which I was not ,able attend. My friend also has another daughter who is 21 months who has not had the vaccine yet and the same friend has never had chicken pox. Thankfully my husband took the kids to the party and they had a good time.

I did manage to go to the 4th party my friends were having but I was so fatigued from the shingles and nauseous from the pain medicine we left early. Glad I did because we headed out to the beach the next day and I needed my energy for that. That evening though, Miss K complained about a sore throat. I sent her to be with some Ibuprofen and hoped she would feel better in the morning.

Not so much. She woke up feeling worse and took her to the walk in pediatrician. She was running a low grade fever and tested positive for strep. Just great!! I had already been having thoughts that God was trying to prevent me from going to the party on the fourth with my shingles and it didn't keep me from going anywhere. So now he allows Miss K to get sick and contagious so I have to stay home. We took the rest of the day to chill out and relax. The next day and three doses of antibiotics and she was full of energy again. Kids bounce back so easily.

But I am still having this nagging feeling that I am being limited on my activities by having the shingles. I am looking for the good in it because life could be much worse. It's uncomfortable and the effects could last several weeks even when the rash is gone. The pain fades in and out and I try to not let it bother me. It has kept me form the gym and I've been hanging out at the house with the kids. They have enjoyed having me be around them more than going to fun activities outside the house. I guess God is grounding me.

I have learned that you have to find the good in every situation and not dwell on the bad in it. Find the positive. The Lord has blessed my family with the fortune to be able to stay home with my children and now he is blessing me with the quiet time to spend with them. For this, I am thankful.