Morning Cuppas With Glenys

Sometimes you just want to be seen

Many years ago Chris and I visited my daughter accompanied by my 12 year old grandson. As it turns out, my ex-husband was there visiting her as well.

Not wanting to be around him, we sat outside under her pergola with my grandson, sipping on a cup of tea.

My daughter and her father were inside when we heard as plain as day my ex-husband ask her, "Who is this kid?" My daughter replied quite embarrassed, "That's your grandson, L-!"

Well, my poor grandson, L heard it too and he went very quiet. Then he took off in to the back garden, obviously upset.

Putting down my cuppa, I followed him and found him crying and quite embarrassed about being found in tears.

A sensitive boy, I knew he was hurt, and I put my arm around him and drew him into me. Not needing an explanation, one was soon forthcoming.

Between sobs, he told me that Grandpa didn't even know him! He then declared that Grandpa Chris was his real grandpa and quite correctly he lamented that he himself didn't even know his own grandpa but that it was too late now. He didn't want anything to do with him.

I felt L's pain because often in my marriage with said negligent grandpa, I too was invisible. Rejection and indifference hurts.

We all want to be known. We want some bond and attention from those who are supposed to love us and if it is not forthcoming, the emotions can be quite strong.

Reflecting on this, I thought of God Who knows us from birth and Who knows us by name.

The LORD replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.” Exodus 33:17

What a precious thing to remember! It is something to reflect on in moments of feeling invisible and forgotten..and this was brought to L's attention and helped him through...

Because sometimes you just want to be seen.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. Psalm 139:16

Christ has done it all.

What is the process for being saved by Jesus? It's quite simple really.

It doesn't require a ritual nor the church to do anything. Even death bed confessions of belief will save you. That's what happened with the thief on the cross next to Jesus. Faith. Belief. Confession = salvation

You can be saved right now. Wherever you are, simply proclaim Him with your lips and believe with your heart.

Then you will be born again. The gospel is not complicated- man messes it up by adding works. We do nothing but believe and confess. Christ has done it all.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:10

"We give You thanks"

"We Give You Thanks"

Lord, as we gather at this table
May we be truly grateful
For the bounty You have given us.
We thank you for the earth and rain,
The good harvest and the wholesome grain
That went into our daily bread
And kept the stock that kept us fed.
Thank you for the hands that cooked and baked,
And for the water that our thirst slaked.
Please accept our thanks as we honour You
For Your goodness in giving us this food.

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of [our] lips giving thanks to his name. Hebrews 13:15

Silent wings

As you probably know, Chris and I have been married before. He was deserted as she went with her boss, and I was severely abused. The emotional pain of separation and divorce took its' toll on us, especially as they both were long marriages..

We never really achieved true bonding with our first spouses (because they didn't love us), but twenty-seven years after our marrying, we are still amazed at the depth of intimacy in our marriage. We guard our marriage and both of us believe it is our first priority after God...

Our marriage must be our first priority after God for like any relationship, it can slowly die off if not tended. It is like air from a tyre: a slow leak can eventually do as much damage as a blow out!

We love a particular song by Tina Turner called On Silent Wings. It describes exactly what can happen in a marriage that is not tended... We never want to find ourselves in a loveless marriage again and we purposely cultivate intimacy- and I am not talking only of sex, even though it is important to enhance it. I am talking of spiritual bonding, cleaving and longing for each other... the hallmark of a successful marriage...

Becoming one is God's plan for marriage, and cleaving to each other is critical to its' survival. Today with so many things pulling us away from home, it is easy to become complacent about our marriage and eventually it can fizzle out.

"Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." Ephesians 5:33

Of all things in this world, attending to our marriage is critical. It deserves our best effort because not only has God ordained it, but our family and home depend on it. Marriage is the foundation of civilisation .... let's make sure ours is a good one with no silent wings...

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:24

Not just a bump on a log

When I was a young mother of four children under five, I was struck down with glandular fever that lasted for a full six months.

As you can imagine, with an illness lasting that long, I was often alone to manage as my then husband had to work and my mother lived far away. It was a long and difficult time that made me feel like I was just a bump on a log.

This wasn't true in fact because out of necessity, I found ways to run my household and look after my children unassisted and mostly from my bed. But not being able to get up for more than thirty minutes at a time without collapsing from fatigue made me feel useless.

In the morning no matter how exhausted I felt, I rose and got my oldest child off to school with my neighbour picking him up and dropping him off. I bathed my youngest babies and dressed and fed them then put a load of washing on. I took something out of the freezer for dinner. Then I staggered back to bed, a perspiring mess!

My four year old daughter lifted her siblings up onto the bed where I read stories to them, often falling to sleep with the book over my face and finding the children in the lounge room watching cartoons.

Sometime later, I arose again to change nappies and give them a snack or a bottle. I would put that finished load of washing into the dryer and set it going to dry. I would organise some play activities and would lie on the couch watching my little ones building a house with lego blocks. Then I would fall asleep again, drenched in sweat.

I was told to rest in order to kick the glandular fever, but as any chronically ill mother will tell you, that usually means that she does her home duties in her dressing gown or house coat. Her version of rest.

My husband would cook tea, following my instructions on what to cook and sometimes even how to cook it. If I felt well enough, I would bath our school age child to save his father the chore and then I would take a quick shower. It left me even more exhausted, but with glandular fever, one is bathed in sweat all the time and it is necessary to shower daily even when tired.

Finally the fever left me, but over the years I was troubled with Sheurmann's disease, a disease which ate the discs in my back and would have caused severe scoliosis, if not for enforced bed rest after a two week ordeal in hospital in traction, many times over the years.

I learned to plan my grocery shop, organise payment of my bills, delegate household chores, help with homework, listen to school readers, and be there for my growing children all from my bed. It was easy to think of myself as useless like a bump on a log, but in actual fact, I was anything but.

Chronic illness can take away many things from us, but don't let it take away your confidence in being mistress of your home. You will find that running your household from your bed is in fact possible, and proves that we are no bumps on logs.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 1:2

No honour when honesty goes out the window!

So as you know, my husband Chris has been in hospital recently. In ED he had various tests and later on an MRI to find out why his eyes are crossed.

After 4 days in hospital, he was given an MRI. This was done late Friday afternoon and we knew there would be no answers of the results until Monday.

All Monday we waited for the MRI results. But each time we were told the report had not been written up and they were just waiting for that to happen and then Chris would be discharged

During the day Chris was seen by many medical people who all told us they didn't know what the MRI showed. This was later proven to be a lie.

Around midday a pharmacist in the hospital came in to see Chris. She was going through his list of new medications to prepare for his discharge.

She explained that he was to start on a new statin which was triple the dosage of what he had taken before. She added that this was necessary to make sure that he didn't have another stroke.

Straight away I interjected, "Are you saying that he has had a stroke?!" She spluttered and said she didn't know as she hadn't seen the MRI report! Later that day, the discharging doctor came in to tell us that he had had a stroke in his cerebellum.

It was not a bleed but a blockage caused by plaque from his high cholesterol. I knew then that they had lied to us and had seen the MRI hours before we were told. I was livid!

Whilst delighted that Chris was coming home, I was angry that the pharmacist and doctors had lied to us. When one's very life is in the hospital's hand and knowing how anxious a time it was, we never thought for a minute that we would be lied to.

As a Christian, I value truth. In fact, lying or being lied to is anathema to me. If our word isn't true, how can we trust someone? on what do we place our judgement? how can one have confidence in a liar?

Once one has been found out to be a liar, the basis for trust and confidence is gone. Furthermore, if someone is known to worship the LORD Who is Truth, how can He be honoured by His followers telling untruths?

Lying is a serious thing, for there is no honour when honesty goes out the window!

‘Lord, who may abide in your tabernacle? Who may dwell in your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbour, not does he take up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honours those who fear the LORD. He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; he who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent, he who does these things shall never be moved’. Psalm 15.

Another chance at life together

So we were watching TV together when I noticed Chris was shutting one eye and then the other. Then he told me he had a really bad headache.

I gave him some paracetamol and he fell asleep on the couch after taking it.

A day or two afterward, he was looking at me and I noticed his left eye was turning in. That's when the double vision came into play...

After putting up with it for a week, Chris decided it wasn't getting better, so we went to the ED.

They noticed his right eye stares straight ahead, making the left eye turn like it should, but causing double vision which made him feel nauseous.

They noticed his blood pressure was quite high and started him on more medication for it. They ordered a Cat Scan on his head and admitted him.

The CT scan showed no abnormalities, so they followed up with a MRI which did. Chris had had a stroke in his cerebellum.

It was not a bleed but rather a blockage, and they believe this caused his double vision known as Cranial sixth nerve palsy. They don't know if it will be permanent or not.

They are treating his blood pressure, upping his insulin for the diabetes and putting him on aspirin as a blood thinner, as well as giving him statins for his high cholesterol.

He will be treated by patching one eye to avoid double vision and taking the aforementioned medications. This will be punctuated with GP visits, physiotherapy visits for eye exercises, endocrinologist and neurologist.

My fibromyalgia has flared as I am exhausted. I stayed everyday of his week long hospital stay from 10-7pm. The weather was changing all the time as we are in our spring and I have had angina because the stress was mind numbing..

We are so grateful that the stroke wasn't worse and we are praying believing that the eye nerve damage will sort itself out. Also we are praying that he doesn't have another stroke.

Mostly we thank the LORD for another chance at life together..

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. -Psalm 91:14-16