From 2011:
It’s been more than forty-eight hours now since my husband came home from work early in excruciating pain. More than forty-eight hours since I called his mom to see if she could rush him to the ER. I watched in near tears as our neighbor, who is a nurse, brought him a face mask to put on because if her fears were correct, he could have been so contagious that our whole family would be at risk.
I didn’t know anything. I simply knew that he was so weak he could hardly stand. And watching him leave with no color in his face and tears in his eyes for fear the baby or the kids would get whatever it was that he had, simply broke my heart.
Watching them drive away was almost too much to bear. I wanted so desperately to go with them. But we all knew that taking a four week old into the ER was not a good idea. So I stayed home and waited.
There were a few things I knew. I knew he was having headaches so severe they were making him throw up, an alarming amount of pain in his neck and back, and after speaking to the nurse, I knew it could be spinal meningitis and that after signing a waver because of the possibility of paralysis, he would be getting a spinal tap to reach a diagnosis.
I could not hold his hand. I could not tell him how much I loved him. He was over an hour away in a tiny quarantined room.
That’s when I vaguely remember hearing that there were only five days until Christmas. And suddenly it was like I was waking up from a coma. Like all I could see were bright lights. Everything else washed away.
All except my husband. And my children. And my King.
There was no more tinsel and no more lights. I didn’t care whether the cookies needed slivered almonds or chopped pecans. Or that the last row of lights on the tree had burnt out. All I cared about was whether or not my phone was going to ring and what was going to be on the other end.
All I wanted was for my husband to be OK. And I had no idea if he was actually going to be OK.
As the hours and days have worn on, with presents still unwrapped and many left to buy, it was natural to wonder if Christmas was going to be normal. But maybe–just maybe its not supposed to be.
Because Christmas was never about us. It was about the Savior who came to this earth as a baby to be born in a cold stable among donkey and sheep. And just like the drummer boy–we have no gifts fit for a King.
Except to get down on our knees and thank him for our family.
And thank him for the night he came into this world beneath a midnight sky. Although there was no room in the inn, and although the world He came to save would betray him, He still came.
To bring us tidings of comfort and joy.
I have since learned that our prayers have been answered and Noah was not contagious. Test results have begun coming in and the worst illnesses are slowly being ruled out. Which meant that I was able to visit him! Holding his hand and seeing the color in his cheeks and the smile on his face was all the Christmas present I needed.
We are so thankful for all the prayers and all the love that has poured in from friends and family. It’s going to be a very merry Christmas this year, despite the fact that the thanksgiving decorations are still up and we don’t have a stocking for Caleb 🙂
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a joyous time celebrating the birth of our Lord!
From my family to yours.
Joanne,Thank you for sharing this. It not only brought me to tears but it helped me get my focus on Christ and His birth, rather than all the stress and hurry.I am so happy Noah is doing better. God is so good and He'll never give us more than we can handle. Have a wonderful Christmas, I'll come over next week to clean your house:) Love you all.
Love, Katie
Katie–Thank you for being such a wonderful friend! Your encouragement means so much to me!
I am still blown away by all the love that has poured in from Facebook. My family and friends have truly been surrounding us in prayer. So many have stepped in to help that I am just awed. We feel so blessed!
Dear Joanne,
I can hardly breathe because of the richness of the air you have stewarded from heaven to earth as you've recounted this experience. May the rest of the moments lived until the second Advent be as meaningful for all of us as these have been for you, your family, and the community of faith who surrounds you! You are all SO richly, deeply, truly loved. I pray that the words and the gift God has given you to communicate His gospel grace reaches farther than we could ever imagine! Shalom.
I know how painful this was even to relive in order to put the words down, but thank you so much for walking us through what you faced. Your faith and strength during this ordeal is almost tangible in the beautiful way you gave God the glory even during your trial.
And to Noah, please get better, take care of yourself and your precious family. We are so grateful you are getting better, and sorry you had to go through this.
To the medical staff, our hats are off to all of you.
Hark, the angels are rejoicing on heaven and earth, our God is good.
Love,
Bev
I am so relieved,we have had you all in prayer since your mom shared the news this morning. Your blog was perfectly stated and really touched my heart.
Hugs to all of you,
–Anna
Well said, my dear. I'm sorry you and your family had to go through that, but you're wise to see what's important in this life. You're such an inspiration to me and I love you. Hugs.
Wow, that must have been so scary. I'm so glad he's doing better!
Hugs and prayers
He is home now. Hooray! I got to pick him up this afternoon and it was a little slice of heaven to see him walk out of that hospital with a huge smile!
It's funny how all the "stuff" that seems so "important" fades away when a crises hits, peeling away the layers of fluff so we can see what really matters. While all of the things we do at Christmas can be fun and we love the family times, it's great to remember what it's all really about. God sent us a Savior because we live in a messed-up world with sin and sickness. Amen to that! Thank you for the reminder, and I pray your hubby starts feeling better! So glad you got to bring him home. Merry Christmas, Joanne!
Such a frightening time! I'm so glad the Lord answered your prayers. Keep us posted on what his diagnosis finally is. I'll be praying it was simply a weird virus.
Years ago, I heard something at Christmas that changed the way I look at this season. While we say He is the reason for the season, truly it is us. WE are the reason. We're the reason He came.
He came to pay a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we couldn't pay.
So while we celebrate His coming, I remember He came for me. Somehow words become inadequate to express the joy over that. I'm so glad He knows our hearts!
Rejoicing with you!
I just read your post a year later. It was beautifully written. I am praying that all is well with your family this year at the Blessed Christmas time.
Phyllis,
All is well with my family and I am so, so thankful. Your prayers are a blessing! Thank you. Sending a prayer for the Lord’s comfort and joy on you and your family this Christmas season!
Even though this happened a year ago my eyes filled with tears for what you and your husband went through. Even though life hits us hard at times and I am facing some hard trials right now, my focus is on Jesus. It is all about Him and because of Him we have HOPE.
I pray your husband is well and doing fine this Christmas season.
Blessings to you and your family!
Merry Christmas and best wishes for the coming New Year!
Oh, Judy, mine do as well! Reading this again a year later made me remember all that had happened, and even greater, God’s goodness. Sending a prayer for you during this trial and it sounds like your focus on Jesus is just the thing to see you through. So well said…because of Him we do have hope. What a joy! 🙂 Best wishes and hugs to you, Judy! Merry, merry, Christmas.
Oh, Joanne, praying blessings on your family. I didn’t know your husband was sick, and I am so glad to hear the worst is being ruled out. God is able, and God holds him in his hands. So happy to hear you were able to visit him. I’m praying for health, healing and wholeness.
Thank you for reminding us to keep our focus on Christ in the upcoming days. Maybe instead of focusing on gifts for friends and family, we should be focusing on what we have to bring our King. Bless you!
Gwendolyn,
Hello! You are such a dear. You have blessed me by your comments and prayers! I am SO thankful to say that this was a year ago, Christmas 2011, and I just ended up re-posting it on Facebook in light of being once again, incredibly grateful. My husband is doing well. Occasionally, when he gets sick or does something really strenuous, he’ll have pain from where they performed his spinal tap, and that’s always a bit scary! But God is so good and brought a full and wonderful healing.
I am so glad this post was an encouraging reminder to you. I really needed it this year in light of feeling so overwhelmed! Taking the time to stop and just count my blessings, hold my three kids a little bit tighter and embrace the chaos as God’s goodness, is my hope.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Joanne, you just like to make me cry, don’t you? Just kidding. This is such a touching story and I am so happy that it all turned out well. This is indeed a time to remember our Savior and to realize the true meaning of Christmas. Thank you for sharing such a personal time in your life. Merry Christmas and God bless.
Debbie,
It’s been such a joy to get to revisit this story and share it with new friends like you! It’s so heartbreaking when bad and difficult things happen at Christmas time–I think this year and last week, more then ever. Just heartbreaking. Once again the holiday-ness of it all seems to fade away and it’s just Jesus and his love and that is always enough. I woke up this morning just thinking of all those in need of His comfort this time and praying that they will feel His loving presence fall so heavily and so securely even in the midst of these times.
Thank you for visiting! I always enjoy your comments both here and on Facebook. Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas!