Sickness!

Oh, lucky little Gabe is going to have the funnest week in the world! We're going to play lots of games, do lots of crafts, drink juice, eat jello and pudding, and watch a whole bunch of TV! Why all the fun? Two words: Chicken Pox.
Stupid, wretched chicken pox.
I thought I saw something suspicious on his back while we were visiting my new nephew in Calgary, but it was one tiny, little red dot so I assumed I was overreacting. Then when we were at church today I noticed a couple red dots on his tummy - again, I assumed I was just being paranoid, or at most that it could be a rash from his shirt. Then about an hour later his shirt lifted again and I couldn't count all the tiny red dots I saw. We scooped him up, rushed him home and checked him over, but not before he played with all the kids through Sunday School and we had a potluck dinner with them all. Sure enough, when we got home and had time for closer inspection, there were dots all over his torso, some on his thighs and a couple on his scalp. My first concern was for my newborn nephew, but I've been reassured that he should be fine thanks to his mom's immunity. So now my concern is simply limited to my sick child, my not-sick-yet child, the kids we played with at church today and the kids we played with at Play Date on Friday. Ahhh the simple life.
So, the long and short of it is that after two weeks of illness in our house, we are bracing for a new wave of disease and infection. However, I am determined to be wise in this time and take a lesson where I can. A few weeks ago I was thinking a lot about what it meant to do things to God's glory. I tried to let that thinking permeate through my whole life; as I sang at home I pictured myself singing praise directly to God, as I made dinner I imagined myself cooking for God, and even as I cleaned the house I tried to do it all to God's glory. Then something happened. I got sick. And for some reason I felt like my sickness excused me from doing things to God's glory. What I failed to realize is that I could still be sick to God's glory, if my heart were in the right place. You can be sick to God's glory, you can sleep to God's glory, you can die to God's glory... but you can also do all of those things for your own glory and for your own selfish gain. And I hate to have to admit it, but that's what I did a couple weeks ago - I was selfish and failed to give God the glory due to His name. Don't get me wrong - I was really very sick and I needed to spend my time sitting on the couch, but my heart could have been more in-tune with God while I did that, and I consciously pushed God aside for some 'me' time, and that was nothing but wrong.
Well this week I am determined to do better. My lot has been drawn and I am destined to have a week of caring for my sick child, but this time I will be doing that to God's glory. How? Well, to start, I'll be trying to do it to the best of my abilities. We'll finger paint, play with "cloud sand" (flour and baby oil), we'll do all sorts of messy crafts and read all sorts of stories and I'll make it as enjoyable a week for Gabe as I can. But more importantly, I'll be doing it with the right intentions. I'm not going to be doing these activities with Gabe to win any 'Best Mother' awards, or to win favor with my son, or to show my husband how busy I can be, but I will be doing it to serve my God, which is the best reason in the world.
To God be the glory, forever and ever, Amen.

Mrs. VanderLeek ;)