Skip to main content

From the Rising of the Sun

"Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time on and forevermore. 
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised."
(from Psalm 113)

The rising of the Sun began around 2:30 a.m. when I felt a strong discomfort in my stomach causing me to break out in a cold sweat.

I was tempted to wake Elaine and call for an ambulance, but she had a hard day, so I let her sleep.

By 6 a.m. the discomfort subsided and I no longer had a cold sweat.

I got up, showered, ate breakfast, but the discomfort remained, so I made a doctor's appointment.

After his exam, he explained there could be one of several issues, but this was nothing to fool with. Did he want me to call an ambulance or could I drive to the hospital.

The sun continued to rise as I drove to the hospital and called Elaine telling her the situation.

I was given a brief, thorough exam by a surgeon, admitted and located in a room

Nurses, PC’s, arrived, took vitals, hooked me up and drew blood.

An African chaplain, with a heavy African dialect arrived praying and blessing me.

The sun was now setting, I was prepped for gallbladder removal, the time had come to “praise the name of the Lord”.

My reflection is simple: the hospitalization and recovery created a time to praise God.

In our daily lives, God reaches to us in our humanity in the seemingly simple, caring events of others, “from this time on and forevermore”.

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grantchester's Warning

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, the owner would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (from Luke 12:32-40 ) I regularly watch Grantchester; a murder mystery set in 1950s England. The main characters are a local detective and an Anglican priest who, as a team, solve mysteries set in the town. Two aspects of Grantchester impress me. First, the simplicity of the 1950’s police communications done by a landline phone and not cell phone. Second, the simplicity of daily life with little television and fewer possessions allowing the characters to focus on their vocation of detective and priest. This simplicity is more than a nostalgic return to the “good old days”. Instead, it’s a Shaker type of simplicity where austerity allows freedom from distractions to focus on worship and community. Today’s distraction-filled world has seemingly countless activ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walking with God

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. (from Ps.103:1-8 ) Thomas Merton, American Trappist monk, writer and theologian, once asked himself a question he immediately answered:   How does an apple ripen? The apple, by simply being in the sun, fulfills its purpose of ripening, The apple doesn't try to ripen faster, it simply allows the sun to do its work.   There is nothing it can do to ripen itself. It can’t do workouts, tighten its muscles and then suddenly be a red, ripened, juicy apple in the morning. The apple just hangs on the branch in the sun, naturally ripening, where it receives its daily nourishment. This is the basic plan for how Christians ripen in their relationship to God. The difference is that Christians don’t naturally ripen in their relationship to God, we have to place themselves where we can be nourished. The beginning place of nourishment I find most helpful is the Guide to Prayer For All Who Walk With God. The daily walk in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus, Deliverance, and Demons

"Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind." (from Luke 8:26-39 ) Astrid is a streaming program I often watch. The plot is a basic cops and robbers action until the criminal is caught. The uniqueness of the program is Astrid, who is on the Autism spectrum, is brilliant at solving puzzles including connecting clues to solve the crime. Watching this program has given me a more profound insight to people living with this condition and their acceptance in society. My first-hand experience with children on the Spectrum was driving a Special Needs school bus for 6 years. With this experience, I can imagine the life the possessed man was experiencing, especially living among the tombs, bound with chains and shackles, having to live in the wilds. It was no wonder he cried for mercy. Jesus, with his power and mercy, cast the demons out and even...
Post a Comment
Read more