The human spirit can endure in sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?
- Proverbs 18:14
“The great thing with unhappy times is to take them bit by bit, hour by hour, like an illness. It is seldom the present, the exact present, that is unbearable.”
- C. S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady
I think that I may have used this C. S. Lewis quote before, but as the affects to the precautions for COVID-19 continue to wear on us all, I thought it appropriate for a short note or endurance.
My wife had two kidney biopsies recently. The doctor missed obtaining any kidney tissue the first time. One son suggested that this could mean good news, that my wife has confirmation of not having “butt cancer.” So we both endured a second bit of torture, besides the additional week of simply not knowing. As a result, my wife and I wore masks for about eight hours straight two weeks in a row. While she lounged in an uncomfortable surgical gurney with thirty minutes under a valium induced stupor and local anesthesia, I sat on chairs that seemed to have been designed by Johann Philipp Siebenkees. You don’t know who he is? He invented the iron maiden torture device. No matter which way you sat, some body part was in pain. I think the hospitals use such chairs to discourage visitors from staying all day, but when it is an outpatient procedure and my wife would not be allowed to drive home, what choice do you have? And in spite of that, wearing the mask for all those hours seemed to be the greatest inconvenience. The masks get moist and sticky after a while.
Yet, we continued to wear the masks, because we have a few of the danger markers associated with the virus.
And whenever you endure anything, if you take it one moment at a time, it does not seem as bad. A little endurance for a few moments. Then endure the next moment by praising God for having endured the previous moments. It makes it go so much faster.
And if what you are enduring is a trip to the dentist, remember another C. S. Lewis quote along the same vein.
“It doesn’t really matter whether you grip the arms of the dentist’s chair or let your hands lie in your lap. The drill drills on.”
- C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
Turn to God for your strength. Do not let a virus, no matter how deadly, crush your spirit.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
Still praying Mark!!!
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Thanks. I have a post coming out in the morning. The doctor has her scheduled to get the dialysis port installed tomorrow and she may start dialysis by mid-week. Still praying that it is temporary, but while her BUN is getting closer to a safe range, the Creatinine is staying too high – and she cannot walk a 100 yards with the help of a cane without sitting to rest. It took everything she had to get from the parking lot to the only hospital entrance – COVID control. And I could not go in, get a wheelchair and then go out – since the wheelchair would then be “contaminated.”
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I will focus on the righting of level— this Covid crap exacerbates our already perilous difficulties — adding insult to injury —
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Agreed, but what choice do we have? We could open all the doors and have no idea where the contamination came from or where it went. If I had a fever, I would go to the ER, but there are many more idiots out there than just AOC.
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She’s just the one our media loves to showcase—
I have had some health issues as of late and it scares me to even think I might need to go to the ER—I’m even putting off some doctors visit that are referrals til things tamp down a bit— great times eh?!
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Yep, but our family doctor has things set pretty well. You don’t go in without an appointment and without a check in window that is free. Then you social distance in the waiting room. When called, the nurse places a note on your chair, and the business manager comes in and disinfects that chair. The note says – Don’t Sit here!!! They do everything in the exam room and the usher you out without seeing anyone other than the doctor and nurse, and the office manager/cleaning lady. At the ER, they are very careful with the sick person, but once my wife was in an ER exam room, I went in without even having my temperature checked. Ooops!
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That is good— my doctors office is not as efficient but I can’t speak for our hospital— I do hear they are doing a good job
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I have more worries at Walmart. They check for a mask at the door and then the customers pull it down to their chin.
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I saw two different folks with masks down to their chins at the grocery store, one older gentleman, over at the produce who pulled his off in order to talk on his cell phone and a handful without masks despite the large signage on the entrance about wearing masks — I’m ready to call it a day!
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Me too.
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Praying for your wife. 🙏🏼
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Thank you. All prayers are welcome.
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🙂
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Keeping your beloved in prayer 🙏🙏
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Thank you so much.
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