Jiggity Jig.
If you haven’t already heard, MY MOM IS HOME. I don’t think you need an expert’s opinion on whether this is good news, but let me tell you anyway, THIS IS GOOD NEWS. (Pardon the hyper caps. It is National Coffee Day, and I have been partaking.) Not that I’m necessarily an expert on home, but I have had the joy and privilege of growing up in a home cultivated by Susan Cady. I think this has contributed to my homebody tendencies. I love home, because she created a home I loved to be in. As such, I’m sure you can imagine that the haven she has created for our family and friends is one of her favorite places. What a blessing that she gets to continue her recovery there!
She is much more relaxed and, despite still being on oxygen, is able to move around the house quite a bit because of an extra long cord. She is working on mobility, and her next goal is to move around the house without a walker, which she still needs to provide some support and rest between rooms. She is expected to start physical therapy at home soon.
She was reminded today of something a nurse and three of her close friends “just happened” to say to her at four different times: “Be kind to yourself.” While that phrase can sometimes hold the connotation of naval-gazing, the Lord is using it to teach my mom that being kind to herself really means relying on him instead of on herself. It’s kind of like when your 2-year-old wants to “do it all by herself” and you just watch her try to lift the laundry detergent that weighs as much as she does until she looks up at you and indignantly says “Can you help me?” The first Hazel wants to be strong and independent and just like her sisters, but the second Hazel realizes her limits and rests in the strength of someone who can hold the weight. That rest is kinder to Hazel. My mom is learning to rely on our able God.
She still has quite a bit of road left on the way to recovery, and because of this, she still might not be as responsive to your texts as simple daily tasks wear her out. But please keep sharing your encouraging words!
Thank you for all who have signed up for the meal train and to my mom’s Bible study friend, Joyce and my aunt Robin for setting it up! The front porch is set up for contactless delivery as my mom has not yet had a flu shot and must continue to keep her distance from friends. In light of this, she cannot have visitors at this time but will let you know when she can. Thank you for understanding!
How You Can Pray and Praise:
- THANK the Lord for Tom B. who brought my mom an overnight bag in the ER way back at the beginning when my dad was still home with Covid
- THANK the Lord for my mom’s Tuesday morning Bible study ladies for their extreme generosity with a gift basket, gift cards, and groceries
- THANK the Lord for Joyce and my aunt Robin who set up the meal train
- THANK the Lord for everyone who has signed up to help
- THANK the Lord for Donnie W. who helped my mom get her fancy at-home oxygen machine thing all set up
- That my mom would be able to reach her goal of moving around the house without a walker soon
- For in-home physical therapy to go well when it starts
- For my parents’ relationship as my dad takes care of my mom at home; things are going well! Just pray for continued grace
- That my mom would be kind to and patient with her body as it heals and rely on the Lord
Thank you for your prayers, encouraging words, meals, practical help, and community! It has been easier to swallow my complete helplessness in this situation when I can see that God is supplying help through his people. Thank you for BEING his people.
Jenn