Still Alive

So, yes, I am still alive!  When I first found out I had shingles last March, I googled it to try to find out how long it would take to recover.  The resident doctor laughed when she came into my hospital room and found my laptop propped on its side on my pillow as I tried to educate myself.  Most articles I read said it would last about six weeks.  In reality, it was very painful for about two months, and still made it hard for me to sleep for about two more months after that.  By the end of July I finally felt that I could say I was totally normal again.

Lessons learned?  I think I can be more compassionate toward those who are dealing with chronic pain.  I remember in the early days, when the pain was very severe, crying to God that I couldn't see any purpose in it.  I was reminded of Romans 8:28, where God promises that He will cause EVERYTHING in our lives to work together for good somehow.  So I told God, "Okay, I don't understand what your purpose is.  But I believe that you have a purpose, so I will just cling to that.  It will be enough."  And it was.

Sick at Home

No photos this time, just asking for your prayers. I spent 4 days in the hospital last week with a diagnosis of "Shingles." I have low-level pain on my left side that flares up and becomes severe for a few hours once or twice a day. Sometimes pain medicine helps, sometimes it doesn't.  I have had it for two weeks now.  God has been gracious in providing loving caregivers, and I really feel His presence. But I pray it won't last very long!

Creativity

Most cultures have some kind of native handicraft, like weaving, pottery, or woodcarving.  When I am asked about the handicraft from my country, I usually say that quilting is one of  the favorites.  I have done a little quilting in my time, not much.  But living in the tropics, we don't have much use for quilts, so my skills have languished.  Last year I got inspired to try making some quilted handbags.

I had so much fun with it! I can usually finish a bag in a few days--that's much better for me than starting into a project that will take months to complete! I have a lot of pieces of fabric that were given to me by our students. And, since we travel more often these days to visit our graduates in their ministries, I have been taking the opportunity to buy some small pieces of cloth from various countries.

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Last year I decided to make a special bag for each of my two discipleship group members who were graduating. It was really a hit, so I am doing it again this year. The pieces of fabric come from all of the countries where our group members come from. 

Most of our students stay for three years, and there is some turnover in the discipleship group each year, so by the time they graduate they have been "group-mates" with people from many different countries. The squares in this bag come from (left to right) Bangladesh, Nepal, U.S., Korea, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Pakistan and China.

I will be giving this bag away in about two weeks (and another one just like it that is not finished yet).  I'm sure they'll cry--but they will be happy tears!  I am glad to have discovered this way to bring together my culture and theirs.  It may look like a strange combination to some -- but to us it's a precious blend.