“Doctor, I can’t –“ (cough!) “talk,” I rasped.
Duh. She could clearly tell I had laryngitis. Even I knew that.
“Breathe deeply for me,” she said.
I obeyed, and was sent into the nastiest, most pitiful coughing fit you’ve ever heard. I sounded like an eighty-year-old man who had smoked for sixty of those years.
“Hmmm . . .” she said.
“What is it, doc?” I asked.
“You have a nasty case of bronchitis and laryngitis. I’m ordering you to complete vocal rest. Do you have any allergies?”
“No, I can’t think of –“
“Shhh. No talking. Have you ever taken a codine cough suppressant before?”
“No, not that I – “
“Shhh. I said no talking. Are you on any medications?”
I shook my head.
She handed me a prescription for some super-duper-high-powered antibiotics and a codine cough suppressant.
“Thank –“ (cough!) “you,” I told her.
“Shhh! No talking.”
Obviously, the woman didn’t know me very well. She had no idea what she was asking.
This week, things have been very quiet around my house. One child visited Mimi and Poppy. The other child went out of town with Mark. And for perhaps the first time since I have given birth, I have had the house completely to myself.
Oh, happy day.
I have rested when I wanted to, eaten my meals when I wanted to. I have read books I’ve been wanting to read, but haven’t had time. I have cleaned the house top to bottom, and it has stayed clean. Glory, hallelujah.
If it weren’t for this pesky laryngitis and bronchitis, I’d feel like I was at an exclusive spa. But still, I’ll take what I can get.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my family with all my heart. And I like having them around. But every once in a while, it’s nice just to be alone. To be still. To be quiet.
In the quiet this week, I have gotten some much-needed rest. I have listened to the birds, and talked to God. And I’ve wondered why I didn’t decide to get bronchitis and laryngitis a long time ago.
Just kidding. Sort of.
I’ve made a decision. I’m going to try, to the best of my ability, to work some quiet time into my schedule each week. Perhaps I can wake up before everyone else, and just enjoy the stillness of the house. Or perhaps I can send the kids to their rooms for a mandatory siesta each afternoon. (If that doesn’t work, there’s always duct tape.)
(Just kidding. Sort of.)
God likes us to stay busy. He doesn’t like laziness or idle hands. Yet, He also knew the importance of rest, of a little peace and quiet. After all, He’s, like, God. And even He took a day off. A full day, every week, to do nothing but rest.
Who knows? Perhaps my lack of rest, my lack of quiet, my too-busy schedule is the reason I got sick to begin with. But from now on, I’m going to remember the importance of rest. Of stillness, and peace and quiet.
“Be still, and know that I am God,” Psalm 46:10.
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