Monday, December 7, 2009

12 Days of Sickness

On the first day of sickness, my neighbors gave to me, a hacking cough with a sore throat.

On the fifth day of sickness, my neighbors gave to me:
  • Con-ges-tion!
  • four coughing fits
  • three headaches
  • two sleepless nights
  • and a hacking co-ugh with a sore throat!

I'll spare you the full 12 days. But by the grace of God, I am well! Last winter, I was sick for approximately 50 days. So 12 isn't so bad this year. Although I know, winter is just starting. But it's funny how being sick for a while and being forced to change your daily routine can really change your perspective on life.

Do you feel like you're a pretty good person overall? I generally do. It's not something I would vocalize to others, but deep down in my heart, I have a tendency to think better of myself than I really am. But sickness has a way of bringing out my true self...and it's not pretty. The first few days, I had things in perspective and was trying to pray regularly and seek the Lord's grace. But by day 5 or so, the selfish, self-absorbed, petty, grouchy, depressive, dramatic Pete came out. My wife deserves a lot of praise for being forgiving, kind, gracious and for taking care of the family for 12 days straight!

So one good thing that came out of my sickness is that God reminded me of what a truly wretched, wicked, selfish, arrogant, foolish and sinful man that I am. This obviously leads to what an amazing, kind, compassionate, merciful God I have who forgives my sin through the death of His one and only Son. God's mercies are truly new every morning and His lovingkindness never ends. I experienced that again! It never gets old.

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