I don't bother taking Michael's temperature anymore. Thanks to Krista's frequent bouts of illness when she was younger, I can pretty much guess how high Michael's temps are by feeling his head with the inside of my wrist or by placing a kiss on his forehead. Recently, his low grade fever changed overnight and I detected a change in his coughing (yep, the Mommy Radar strikes again!), so off to the doctor's we went. And as we suspected, there was fluid in his lung so now he gets to drink 2 teaspoons of bubblegum pink medicine twice daily. And, we get to add extra stuff in his nebulizer to help with the asthma issues he's having. He's finally sleeping through the night again... whew, thank God for medicine!!!
Yesterday, Michael and I came home from dropping Krista off at school and noticed something weird about the water when we went to wash our hands. It was barely coming out of the faucet and then it stopped altogether. I had no idea what to do! I called the village to talk to someone in the water department but no one was answering. Then I ran upstairs to see if I had forgotten to pay the water bill but that wasn't it either. I sent a text to see if my friend Sue was experiencing anything odd with her water, but their water was fine. I was so relieved I did the laundry and ran the dishwasher the night before!
I finally did get a hold of someone at public works and was relieved to find out that the water was turned off because of a water main break nearby (and not because of something I did!). And as I pulled out of the garage and down the driveway, I noticed there were bright red fliers stuck on everyone's front door in our neighborhood. Oh.
You know, I had noticed and ignored a piece of that red flyer stuck in our door earlier that morning. I didn't open the front door to get it because it was a cold day and I didn't want to let in the cold air inside. Did I mention I hate being cold?!? Had I just checked it out, I could have solved the mystery of the water issues sooner. And then I remembered that over the weekend, Jacob had pointed out that all the water on the side of the street was probably because of a water main break...
I see a parallel here...have you experienced those times in your life where you feel so far away from God? I've been there. The thing is, God never moved away from me, but instead, I've been the one shifting away from Him because of my sin. Satan is the great deceiver (the father of lies) and he wants us to get our value from pleasing others, idolizing our careers, our status, etc. It's the sin of pride. Satan wants us to believe we've messed up so much we don't deserve grace (so NOT true!). He wants us to believe in the lies we tell ourselves and in the half-truths we tell others. He relishes in the fact that we have time to watch our favorite TV shows, play video games, be on the computer, iPad, etc. but don't have the time or desire to spend time in God's Word (OUCH! I'm guilty!).
No matter how you may slice it or dice it, it's sin! I tell my children that sin is like a big door and it separates us from God and His Holy presence. When we choose sin, we are ignoring the warnings of the Holy Spirit (kinda like me ignoring that red flyer warning about the water main break). The Holy Spirit teaches and reminds us of God's truth in
His Word. He has a way of "nudging" our conscience when we make those poor choices. I'm not a theologian or an expert on the Holy Spirit, but John 14:26 is a great verse that gives us some insight on the Holy Spirit. I like The Amplified Bible's version of John 14:26...
"But the Comforter
(Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the
Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to
represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He
will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your
remembrance) everything I have told you."
Have you felt a "nudge" lately? Don't ignore it!!!
