Perspective

I've had a crappy week. I'm tired. I haven't felt good. Thanks to my meds, I haven't been eating much. Work has frustrated me more than usual. I've been in a funk.

Tuesday I get an email from a friend who still works at the bank. One of the ladies I used to work with, who I had a tremendous amount of respect for and happens to be one of my favorite people there, had a wreck on the way to work Monday, hitting four other cars along the way. When she got to the hospital they found out she'd had a stroke. While she was there, she had a second stroke. Her blood pressure was extremely high and she had lost her ability to speak. My heart broke when I got that email. She had already announced her plans to retire this year and had more than earned it. I prayed so hard for her that day...

Today I got another email from my friend. Barbara had been sent home from the hospital. They'd confirmed that she had had two strokes, but found no damage from them and no more blood clots. She was talking again. They put her on two weeks of bedrest with home health checking on her. She's going to be ok.

My week isn't so crappy right now. My week is looking pretty good. Not so much because I'm so grateful that she's ok, even though I am. Not because I realize how lucky I am and how petty my problems are, even though I do. But because for the millionth time I see God answering a prayer, saying that we aren't beyond asking for miracles and getting an answer, and that sometimes, even though we don't always do everything He wants us to, it's important enough that He's willing to give us the chance to do more. As long as I have that, the rest will be ok.