I am engaged this week in an epic battle against the common cold. Breathing is a chore, talking is a challenge, and my nose resembles Rudolph's. The idea of sleep is just a distant memory. How is it possible that the microscopic little buggers that have crashed the party in my upper respiratory track are able to wreak such havoc? I never saw them coming. They made no sound, gaining access with complete stealth.
The sounds coming out of me are amazing although not welcome. A colleague laughed at my voice and suggested I could quadruple my hourly wage if I was willing to sell the deep throaty sounds to a questionable enterprise. My husband has hardly slept all week, patiently shuttling himself between the bed and the couch to try to escape the crying and the epic sneezes that erupt mid-night.
Although the sneezes have fabulous startle power, the crying is the most disturbing. It is more like a whimper with every attempt to breathe. At least that's what he is telling me. You see, I have no recollection of it and no control over it. It is completely involuntary and could be classified as sudden onset whimpering, triggered by the closing of one's eyelids in the act of sleep.
I need a cure, it has to stop but how does one stop something that is involuntary? My Six Sigma training suggests you should attack the root cause. However the root cause is a virus. My only line of defense is rest, wait it out, and believe it will end eventually. Peaceful, uninterrupted rest seems like a distant miracle at best; rest minus the whimpering and sneezing fits. My faith grounding reminds me that it's Advent, a time of waiting and healing. Believe it or not, Advent and my soggy whimpering tale have something in common.
Advent and the common cold require that I simply wait, rest, and believe. The cure for the common cold and the navigation of Advent are similar. No effort is required on my part or yours. Christmas will come despite us and whatever battles we are fighting. Advent's redemptive story of faith and wholeness will play itself out in our lives; the lowly common cold will cease eventually. Healing and restoration will come and "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain". Isaiah 40:4 (KJV) Take heart, simply wait, rest, and believe.
The sounds coming out of me are amazing although not welcome. A colleague laughed at my voice and suggested I could quadruple my hourly wage if I was willing to sell the deep throaty sounds to a questionable enterprise. My husband has hardly slept all week, patiently shuttling himself between the bed and the couch to try to escape the crying and the epic sneezes that erupt mid-night.
Although the sneezes have fabulous startle power, the crying is the most disturbing. It is more like a whimper with every attempt to breathe. At least that's what he is telling me. You see, I have no recollection of it and no control over it. It is completely involuntary and could be classified as sudden onset whimpering, triggered by the closing of one's eyelids in the act of sleep.
I need a cure, it has to stop but how does one stop something that is involuntary? My Six Sigma training suggests you should attack the root cause. However the root cause is a virus. My only line of defense is rest, wait it out, and believe it will end eventually. Peaceful, uninterrupted rest seems like a distant miracle at best; rest minus the whimpering and sneezing fits. My faith grounding reminds me that it's Advent, a time of waiting and healing. Believe it or not, Advent and my soggy whimpering tale have something in common.
Advent and the common cold require that I simply wait, rest, and believe. The cure for the common cold and the navigation of Advent are similar. No effort is required on my part or yours. Christmas will come despite us and whatever battles we are fighting. Advent's redemptive story of faith and wholeness will play itself out in our lives; the lowly common cold will cease eventually. Healing and restoration will come and "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain". Isaiah 40:4 (KJV) Take heart, simply wait, rest, and believe.
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