The Streaker!

Well, how was your weekend?  My day yesterday started with an early morning jump start!  I had gotten up a little later than usual but still had time to take a quick shower before getting my wife up and participating in a live stream church service.  I discovered a while back that my wife enjoys and is able to sit and receive the Word from the live stream services within the quiet comfort of our own home, where as she was too distracted and just wanted to walk around when we physically attended services.  Anyway, after taking a fast shower I was just beginning to towel myself off (to a healthy, shining glow, as they used to say in the Hardy Boys books I devoured as a kid!) when I heard the loud piercing cry of my wife having another seizure.

Without another thought, I threw open the door and literally flew down the stairs to our bedroom.  In the process of coming down the stairs my bath towel was flung away and I proceeded to the situation at hand in, shall we say, the natural state of things.  After she calmed down enough, I ran back up stairs and grabbed my clothes and wrestled on my jeans on the way back to Piper’s bedside.

The whole incident reminded me first of all, of the heyday of the streakers in the 1970’s.  To say the least, it added a little comic relief to the stressful situation.  As I reviewed yesterday’s events this morning, I was reminded of the young man described only in Mark’s Gospel who fled from the soldiers after Jesus’ arrest in the garden and also lost his towel!  But my incident on the stairs was also the first potentially embarrassing moment of the day.

After all the tests were completed at the emergency room and all the results came back okay, my wife was released from their care.  As the nurse and attendant were helping me to get my wife dressed, I curiously glanced down at the black pants they had just put on her and confusedly noticed that they looked huge around her waist.  At that moment I realized with great shock that in all the confusion of the morning’s events after the fire department crew and ambulance had left to transport Piper to the hospital, that I had mistakenly grabbed my black cargo pants instead of Piper’s jeans!  We all had a good laugh at my gaffe, and with a bright red face I quickly facilitated our exit.

Then, as I drove home I suddenly thought, “How am I going to walk Piper into the house from the detached garages a few hundred feet from our front door without her pants going down around her ankles?”  (as you probably could have gotten two of her in those pants!)  I finally devised a plan where I could stop at our garage where I thought I had stored a pair of work suspenders that I could put on her.  Of course, when I checked out the garage the suspenders were nowhere to be found, so I quickly improvised by knotting together a bunch of strips of old sheeting that was there as a makeshift belt.  Even though it looked hilarious, the trick worked and we were able to slowly amble into the house without observation and without incident.  (Thank the Lord, that everyone was probably inside their houses getting ready to watch the Super Bowl!)

I think that God must have a pretty good sense of humor as I believe that He provided these comical situations in order to help keep me calm throughout the morning emergency.  But even though we have been through this situation five times now, there were a couple of things that were different from the past incidents that attempted to unnerve me.  After they had wheeled Piper out and into the ambulance, I returned to the house to rapidly pack her clothes, feed the dog and finish getting dressed.  After a while I glanced out the side window and noticed that the ambulance was still in the parking lot.  Thinking that something might be wrong, I went back outside.  The paramedic opened the back doors of the van and assured me that all was fine and that they were just prepping her for the ride.  That was just a little odd in that they normally took much less time to complete that task.

Once I got to the emergency room I was told to take a seat and that they would come and get me when they had her settled in.  I ended up sitting in the waiting room for about 15 minutes.  That was also a little strange as they normally want me in there right away as she is unable to communicate with them and I can give them all the information they need.  When the paramedic finally came and ushered me back she explained that they had to wait in the hallway until a room opened up.

During both of those times, I found myself arguing with two sets of voices in my head.  One telling me that there was a life threatening problem occurring and the other encouraging me with the promises of God’s protection and care of my wife.  In both situations the voice of God’s truth won out and I was able to keep my confidence, but there was a battle being waged nevertheless! 

This morning that whole situation came to rest as I read from Hebrews 6:16 where the writer explains that “When people take oaths they base their oaths on someone greater than themselves.  Their oaths guarantee what they say and end all arguments!”  (God’s Word ©)  The following two verses tell us that God made an oath and a promise to us and that “these two things can never be changed” for “God cannot lie when he takes an oath or makes a promise.” (Hebrews 6:18 God’s Word ©)  It was the promises that God has made to us in His Word that ended any and all contrary arguments that popped into my head yesterday in the midst of the trial I was going through!  It was the inability of God to lie that gave me the comfort and strength to carry on, face the task that was thrust upon me and be able to find humor in the midst of it!  Isn’t God good?

So what else can I say?  Don’t even take the time to field the contrary arguments that the enemy of our souls will send your way.  Hear and confess only God’s promises and put a rapid and uncompromising end to anything that might question the truth and goodness of our heavenly Father.  Have a great week!  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What GOOD REPORTS am I expecting today?”