itsawonderfilledlife

Over a week of shifting from bed, to sofa, to chair to other sofa and finally I have made it a whole day without falling asleep on a soft, cozy piece of furniture wrapped in a blanket.

From nasal congestion, to ear ache, to sore throat, to headache to body aches to … well I had no idea it could be painful to open and close ones eyes! I have referred to it as the virus from the dark side, this over week-long bit of nastiness.

I watched movies and online shows (while snoozing through bits of all), played sudoko, ate soup (this is why it is always good to freeze left over soup) and drank hot drinks. The one thing I really wanted to do was read my novel, but I found my eyes struggled to accomplish that task.

I whined, I complained, I got pampered by family and a friend, I improved day by day.

Then I saw something that put my short time with a virus into perspective.

A woman I know posted of her joy of being able to read her novel for the first time in weeks. You see she is in the midst of treatment for cancer and the chemotherapy had made reading a struggle.

As I read her post, I experienced a huge lesson in perspective.

Though the virus I had was a nasty one, it’s course will be maybe two weeks. For someone doing cancer treatments, the sickness, aches and malaise might continue for months.

As I sat re-reading her post I was motivated to pray for her, for her family, her medical professionals who are helping her. I found my mind drifting to others in similar health situations, who are fighting long term. Then I thought of those who seem healthy but may be fighting invisible diseases such as Epilepsy, Crohn’s, Diabetes, Depression, etc.

It is good to have our momentary frustrations put into a larger perspective, reminding us to pray for those whose suffering extends much longer.