The Season of Sneezing
It’s been an eventful few weeks in the Sanders household–the kind of eventfulness most of us could do without. It seems Covid has displaced other viruses for the past year or two, leading to a particularly rough cold and flu season.
My family has not been spared. The first wave of sickness hit about a week after we had Trunk or Treat at our church. Cris and I had fairly mild symptoms, but Clark had a more difficult time. He had a fever that would come and go. Worse still, he would either cough or cry (or both) starting at around 3 or 4 in the morning for several days straight. We went about a week without at good night’s sleep.
We all got over that bug and figured we were done with sickness for a while. We were wrong. Clark and Cris both started having flu-like symptoms last week. Cris has been having body pain, mild fever and nasal congestion. Clark has been having a high fever and nasal congestion.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Saturday and Sunday morning went something like this: Clark woke up at 4:00 a.m., crying and seeking parental comfort. I took him with me to the extra bedroom to see if everyone could get a few more hours of sleep. Clark went back to sleep with me by his side. But the four-year-old’s severe congestion made his slumber sound like a small chainsaw. I never would have imagined such a small body could produce such a loud snore.
Going back to my room wasn’t much of an option: Cris, who also had nasal congestion, wasn’t sleeping very quietly either. More importantly, there was a good chance Clark would wake up, follow me in there, and interrupt what little sleep my wife was able to get.
One of these 4:00 a.m. wake-up calls was yesterday, a Sunday, which means I preached in this sleep-deprived state. I joked with a few people about the possibility of falling asleep during my own sermon. God gave me the strength to preach His word and enjoy fellowship with the congregation.
I ended up taking Clark to a nearby urgent care last night. We were a little concerned that his fever had not gone away after several days (and we knew strep throat was going around). He was diagnosed with the flu–no strep throat.
The High Price of Clean Stalls
I’ve been thinking about a verse from Proverbs in light of these recent events:
Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
-Proverbs 14:4
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
The point of this Bible verse is pretty simple: there’s no cleaning up to do when there are empty stalls. But empty stalls also mean you have no animals to work the field. It’s much better to clean feeding troughs than to lack a harvest.
There’s a point I’m getting to–one directly related to the proverb I’ve just quoted.
There was a time, not too long ago, when I never had to worry about having my sleep interrupted at 4:00 a.m. or wrestling with an uncooperative boy in a doctor’s office.
But that household quietness did come with a price of its own. I was alone.
I’m not saying that my previously single life was meaningless, joyless, or void of purpose. I still smile when I think about carefree jeepney rides on the streets of Manila.
But I also wouldn’t trade anything for what I have now. I’m profoundly grateful to have a wife and son to love and care for.
Today this proverb will come to mind every time I reach for a tissue to wipe my son’s nose.
