Update 3/1/10 Day 113

Dear friends,

I've got a monster headache tonite, the kind that hammers behind the eyes. I think it's from lots of driving today, or not enough water, or too much junk food. Whatever the case, I'll be brief, for which some of you I'm sure will be a relief! (Ha! A rhyme!)

Stephen had PT, OT and part one of his driving evaluation today. He expressed a little frustration with the limited bend and straighten in his right elbow. He seems to have hit a plateau in the range of motion there, and though we were told he would never get it all back, we are still hoping for more. They are talking about putting his arm in a special kind of sling that really pushes the joint, and he would wear it for several hours a day. We will be seeing Dr. Bagchi on Thursday to ask about this contraption, and to see what he suggests. As for the driving eval, Smitty did great! He'll take part 2 on Wednesday, and if he passes he'll be cleared to drive. He's going to need that skill as he continues on the road back to full time employment. He is still working part time from home, which is all he has been cleared for, and which has been a Godsend for him. He is working hard to build up his endurance so he can make it through a full day. But the nature of his injuries were so severe, it really is amazing he can do as much as he can.

While Stephen did his OT today, I began reading a new book by one of my favorite authors, Connie Willis. She has written several time travel novels, and this one takes place around the time of the Blitz in England. It's called "Blackout", and one of the reasons I love her novels is because she really does her homework. I learned more about 14th century England in her time travel novel "The Doomsday Book", and about Victorian England in "To Say Nothing of the Dog", than I would have ever learned in a textbook. So I got a lovely 45 minutes with the Kindle today reading about London during WWII. These little mini vacations are a beautiful distraction, and I thank the Great One for those moments. Once I can sit outside in the sun with a book you won't be able to wipe the smile off my face. The winter only holds on for so long...

I also read a passage by a great Christian preacher (coincidentally from England) who has always inspired and imparted God's truth to me in a very understandable way. His name is Charles Spurgeon, and he had many troubles in his own life, not the least of which was his battle with "melancholy", which today we would call depression. Listen to his words that speak the truth of the value of trouble in our lives:

"Anything is better than the dead calm of indifference. Our souls may wisely desire the north wind of trouble if that alone can be sanctified to the drawing forth of the perfume of our graces. So long as it cannot be said 'The Lord was not in the wind', we will not shrink from the most wintry blast that ever blew upon plants of grace..."

The wintry blast of your trouble has a purpose. The cold of your sorrow will succumb to the warm breath of spring, so hang on my friends. This hard place you travel on the pilgrim road will surely rescue you from the dead calm of indifference, and fill you with compassion for the plight of other souls. And the Great One is goodness itself, who will only allow the trial for the time it takes to draw forth the perfume of your graces. While you march through the winter, He is with you. I believe it. I've seen it. Charles Spurgeon experienced it first hand, and his writings grace the world a hundred years later because of his trouble.

Tomorrow I must clean my bathrooms before something ugly climbs out of them. And the piano is getting tuned so my daughter doesn't go mad with the sounds it's making. By the way, she is singing with the chorus at Columbia tomorrow evening. How great is that? The wintry blast didn't take away her love for a song, and a harmony, and the mysterious beauty of music. The Great One is incredibly strong, but also stunningly tenderhearted. What an awesome God! May he ever save me from the "dead calm of indifference".

Be well, dear friends. I love talking to you every day. Your comments, emails and phone calls have meant the world to me. The perfume of your graces has made my life better. How can I ever thank you enough?

Your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann