Unexpected Thanksgiving Weekend

My Thanksgiving weekend started out well. My husband and I hosted and had my sister and her husband and some friends and their two children over for Thanksgiving dinner. Although the turkey was finished way too early and we still ate an hour after I had planned, everyone had a good time and although it was a little crazy with a 3-year old and two 1-year olds in our small house, it was controlled chaos. Friday was nice and relaxing too. The trouble came Friday night when my 16-month old woke up around midnight crying and wouldn't go back to sleep. I went in, thinking she'd lost her binky or her puppy stuffed animal and needed to be tucked in again. The poor little girl had been sick and to make matters worse, it looked like she'd rolled around in it! So I call my husband in for reinforcements and we give her a bath, change the sheets, wonder if she ate something funny and tuck her back into bed. Two hours later, the cycle repeats. And two hours after that, and two hours after that. Once morning came though, she seemed fine. We obviously were very careful about what she ate, but she was playing normally and didn't show any more signs of sickness for the most part. I looked forward to a nice sleep Saturday night.

I didn't get it. Two hours after going to bed, I woke up with the bug. I ended up sleeping on the couch in order to be close to the bathroom (we don't have one on the second floor) and was waking up every hour or so, which continued well into the day on Sunday. Even though I was physically feeling pretty awful, I feel like this might be the best experience I've had with the stomach virus. It came at a very funny time: right after Thanksgiving, when I'd been meditating on all that I'm thankful for; focusing on all of the blessings God has given me. Right before getting sick I'd also received an email forward that had a video about a boy calling a Christian radio station and sharing a moving message. It basically said that no matter what experience you are going through, God understands and you should just run to Him. That message resonated with me while I was sick. As waves of nausea and fatigue swept over my body, I tried to remember that Jesus suffered severe physical pain and discomfort for me and that He knows and understands what I am experiencing. Furthermore, the Bible says we should rejoice in sharing in Christ's sufferings (Romans 8:17, Philippians 3:10-11, 1Peter4:13). Although I can tell you flat out that I was not rejoicing in my illness, I can honestly say that my feelings of thankfulness continued through the whole experience. I am trying to hold onto that spirit of thanksgiving for the whole year!