Well, I’m back on antibiotics again, even though Dr. Freeman can’t be sure long-distance whether I have an infection or a bad tooth because the symptoms are so similar. This seemed the easier route to start with for me though, because the pain is getting worse all the time. By yesterday it had migrated all the way up to my brow again, into my lower jaw as well as the upper one, and into my ear. After several emails with Dr. Lane (we’re sort of on a first name basis now!) I began on the antibiotic last night, and am hopeful that all these diverse symptoms will be either narrowed down or eliminated.
I got up in the middle of the night again (from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM) before finally getting back to sleep. But I woke up this morning with pain that went from one side of my face to the other. Not a good beginning to my birthday, I guess, but what the heck! I asked Paul to make me some scrambled eggs right away (because I didn’t have the energy) so I could take some more Motrin, and then made the final decision not to go to church this morning. I haven’t showered in two days, and didn’t feel up to it this morning either, so I merely stayed home and went back to bed after Joely and Paul left.
After two more hours of sleep I woke up feeling a little better. I got up and read my devotionals, which the Holy Spirit infused with yet another lesson:
God frequently has to knock the bottom board out of your experience if you are a saint in order to get you into contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of sentimental enjoyment of His blessings.
Also:
Faith in the Bible is faith in God against everything that contradicts Him–I will remain true to God’s character whatever He may do
(Both exerpts are from the October 31st reading from Oswald Chambers’ ‘My Utmost For His Highest’.)
So, taking all that into consideration, and feeling somewhat like I’ve had the ‘bottom board’ of my experience ‘knocked out’, I face the morning with a better spirit. There is no question in my heart that God is not in control of my life, so my experiences are in His hands as well.
Let’s hope you face your day with the same outlook.