Be a Wet Noodle

I know, weird post title.  What I mean is, be a wet noodle rather than a dry noodle.  Put pressure on a wet noodle, and it will give without breaking.  Put pressure on a dry noodle, and it will snap very quickly.  I'm talking about being flexible and truly believing deep down that "A man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9)  God is sovereign over every event that comes our way, and He has a purpose in it all for us all.  On top of that, we must completely trust Him with ourselves, our loved ones, our belongings, our time, our promises, our dreams, and so much more.  With ALL of our being we must trust Him.

That said, I am sorely in need of debriefing.  So let me offer you a real life example of Proverbs 16:9.

Hubz worked a ton of hours earlier this week due to a big project, so he had been planning to take all day Friday off.  This meant a family day of spending time together in the beautiful weather as well as getting a lot of things done around the house.  We love those kind of days!  We had planned to go to Target, Joanns, BJs, Safeway, Lowes, and the park.  We made plans to have dinner with some dear friends we haven't spent one-on-one time with in a while.  I was going to sew some adorable garters for a sweet gal's bridal shower Saturday. Hubz was going to do some yard work and start cleaning the pool up.  I was going to finish up some of the reading for homeschool this week.

'Lij made us hit the brakes starting at about 4:00 AM.  He came and woke me up, saying he needed his nebulizer.  Then at 8:00, he desperately needed it again.  Less than an hour later, he was still coughing quite a bit.  I knew I had to call his doctor.  Which meant a doctor's visit.  There's the first wrench in the day's schedule.  So we got out the door and to the doctor by 9:30.  His pulse ox was fine, lungs mostly ok.  So we did another treatment in the office.  Pulse ox was still fine, and his lungs were better.  But because he was still coughing like crazy, he had to be put on prednisone (not the best considering how much he's had it in his four years of life, but the coughing had to stop for his safety's sake).  All told, the appt took longer than we thought it would.  Quick trip to the park for a snack and to say hi to a good friend and her kids who met [beat] us there, THINKING it would give Target time to fill 'Lij's prescription.  Nope, they hadn't even touched it.  But we couldn't wait the 30 minutes.  Elijah already needed his next allowed treatment -- and we had no vials left in the van.  So we had to go home, knowing we'd have to make the trip all the way back for the prednisone.  Very frustrating.  We did squeeze Lowes in, so at least one thing got accomplished.

Got home, did the next treatment.  Elijah was STILL coughing and coughing after that.  Literally, the boy was coughing an average of every 15 seconds for hours on end.  And now retraction was starting to occur on the big breaths he'd take to cough.  Had to call the doc back -- which meant being sent to the ER where they could give him better meds.  Ok, second wrench had taken away the entire afternoon (though it ended up being much longer).  We stopped for prayer before we left and got a few others to start praying.

Arrived at the ER about 2:30, and Elijah was given his first dose of prednisone and three treatments of combination nebulizer drugs to help get his coughing under control.  Odd thing was that his pulse ox was still fine and his lungs sounded clear.  But cough, cough, COUGH.  They gave him some tylenol with codeine in an attempt to really get at the cough, and 'Lij was to have a breathing treatment every hour for 2 - 3 more hours.  Can you guess what happened?  He still kept coughing.  After a while, I noticed that 'Lij was starting to turn quite pink in the face, chest, and arms.  The nurse quickly got the doctor... no more breathing treatments allowed.  His body had had enough for the day.  So another hour was tacked on to the total so they could monitor and observe him (which I was thankful for!).  I was given the choice of whether or not to have him admitted because I voiced my concern of taking him home and his cough getting out of control again.  Called Hubz.  We and others prayed for wisdom.  Pretty soon after that, Elijah showed a marked improvement.  Still coughing some, but not every 15 seconds.  Seeing how he was improving in both health and spirits, I realized I might still be able to make it to Joanns on the way home...

Nope.  We could have left at 8:00 PM and had plenty of time.  But there was a mix-up with the med we were supposed to go home with -- wrench #3.  So it took a little longer to get it straightened out.  8:30 now...Joanns closes at 9.  And if I don't get there, I wont' have the supplies to make my friend's bridal gift!  The nurse finally came back to say the entire hospital, save for the critical care areas, did not have the medication.  (Uh, you might want to get some more!!)  She handed us a prescription, and we left at 8:55.  There was no way Joanns was happening.  Or anything else we had planned.  The day was just completely over.  Quick stop at CVS to pick up the prednisone transferred from lazy-Target and the codeine cough med.  Then home to give my sweet boy some jello, meds, and a bed.

And here I sit.  A bit in shock at how 180 this day was compared to what we had planned.  A bit emotional from being tired physically and from seeing my son cough so hard for so long with so much medicine pumped into his body.  A bit choked up at the awe of sitting in a quiet home...because that means 'Lij is asleep and not coughing at all.  A bit in wonder at what God's plan is in all of this and asking Him to increase my faith as well as my flexibility.  Prayer and meditation on Proverbs 16:9 are what kept me a wet noodle today, albeit al dente, but still flexible.  I only came close to snapping like a dry noodle once.  But it is amazing the softening affect prayer has.

So when your days are insane and don't match up to YOUR expectations in home and family management, remember to be a wet noodle.  Bend with the Lord's will rather than snapping with your own.  He knows you have a home to manage and a family to love on.  And He knows how you need to do it for your good and His glory.

(But I will say, if I don't get some bread, bananas, and salad up in this house soon -- we're gonna starve.  Because of how this week, and especially today, have gone, we have had MORE than our share of pizza, mac 'n cheese, and lack of fruits/veggies.  MUST get to the store!!!)        :-P

I end with all the things I am thankful for, because that is the BEST way to debrief!

• For a God who is in control and loves my family and me
• For the gifts of prayer and Scripture
• That Hubz had been planning all along to take today off
• For the new physician's assistant at our ped's office -- she's so sweet!
• For medications to help my dear boy breath and stop coughing
• For friends who are willing to help or help find help
• For a new friend -- she and her hubby brought Elijah and I Chick-fil-A in the ER.  I called her, though we've only met once, and asked for food since they lived so close to the hospital and Hubz didn't have the carseats.  And they didn't think twice.  God bless them!
• For the nurses and doctors who work hard to figure out how to best to care for 'Lij (I hate but love that I am familiar with several of them in the Pediatric ER -- hate because that means we've visited enough to where I have favorites but love because familiarity is welcome in tense situations)
• For CVS pharmacy's excellent customer service in transferring and filling the prescriptions we needed -- really made me feel like my son was a priority
• For the rogue nurse that hid three Motrin amidst my dinner because I was starting to have a pounding headache.  "You didn't see anything," she said, "And if you have a reaction, it wasn't me."  God bless her!
• Finally, for the gift of breath, life, vitality, sweetness, silliness, sparkly eyes, and handsome curls of my little 'Lij.  It's been a long road since his first ER visit and hospital stay when he was just 6 months old.  And God has healed him time and again.  How faithful He is.