This past week I became very sick with a stomach virus that I had heard had been going around. This terrible “bug” left me depleted and in bed for several days. Cold, shaky, and weak, I did not leave my bed for nearly 48 hours. (Thanks to Lance Armstrong and Manti Te’o, I was not bored out of my mind.)

I pulled out my hospital socks to help me keep warm in recovery.

But as I laid there all that time, I was able to reflect on my life. (Now I certainly understand that a 48 hour stomach virus is not a very big deal. This is not at all to put me in a category as someone who is very sick or in the hospital.) There is so much that goes through your mind when you are sick. Every time I get sick, I go through this phase of wondering if I will ever get better. What if I don’t? Anyways, I always do. And here are some of my observations that I would like to share: 

1. Health is important. I cannot do all the responsibilities God has given me if I am not healthy. Therefore, I must prioritize my health. Some exercise is important! Like Paul says, “Bodily training is of some value.”

2. My wife is a blessing. Proverbs says “He who finds a wife, finds a good thing.” I have never known that to be more true than this week. As I lay in bed sleeping and moaning, she took care of everything including me. She is 38 weeks pregnant. Due any day. We have 3 little boys running around the house. And she still managed to keep me supplied with toast, chicken noodle soup, and gatorade in bed. She’s amazing!
   
   
3. Focus on where you are. Jim Elliott once said, “Where ever you are, Be all there.” As I was down and out, my sons must have come in to check on me a hundred times. They wanted me to play with them, read to them, wrestle with them, but I was unable to. I found myself thinking. As soon as I feel better, I am going to focus on my sons.

4.  Laziness is awful. As I began to feel somewhat better, my mind began to go over all the things that I could be doing. Things that I would have rather been doing. I began to get mad. Really frustrated. I didn’t want to watch another episode of Family Feud or SportsCenter. I wanted to get up and do something. As the Bible says “Go to the ant, you sluggard, and consider his ways.”

5. I have a good God, good friends and a good church family.  I do not deserve the love that I am shown on a daily basis. The people that God has placed around me are so good to me. I thank God for them. The calls and texts were thoughtful. The help was so on time. I even had two different dear friends conduct funeral services for me in my absence. What a blessing! I am not 100% yet, but I sure do feel better. I thank God that He has healed me.