Thankful

We give thanks to you, O God;
 We give thanks for your Name is near.We recount your wondrous deeds.  -- Psalm 75: 1


One of my biggest anxieties concerning our trip abroad was the fear/dread that our kids would get sick while we were there.  When I mentioned this to someone who was already living in Moldova, before we went, she responded, "Of COURSE your kids are going to get sick!  There are all kinds of new bacteria here, not to mention the stress of traveling, etc."  The general advice from everyone was to come very prepared with as many medicines as possible, since not only was it likely they would be sick, but the medical facilities there would be lacking.  

When Rayna got so sick right before we left, causing us to need both paramedics and the emergency room at the hospital at different points, and then not having time to get the recommended neurological tests done before we left, I was even more worried that she would have more issues while we were gone.


Once we arrived and I saw the black mold all over the walls and ceilings in our house, and the dog hair and dirt tracked in by those creatures all over the place, and the weather got increasingly colder and colder, and we moved deeper and deeper into cold-and-flu season...  my dread increased.


I fervently prayed that God would protect us from harm, and tried not to worry...  We knew we were supposed to be in Moldova for this season, and had to trust that God would provide whatever medical attention we needed....


Well, here is something wondrous:  for the entire time we were there, not one person got sick!  Not a single cold or cough or anything!  This has never happened for six months in the life of our family.


And then, we came home, I breathed huge sighs of relief... and 2 days later, the kids got sick.  In fact, we've had a couple of different viruses in the house this week, all at the same time.


Normally that would be very upsetting to me, but this week it has made me thankful.  God's timing could not be more obvious in all this!  The week before we were to leave on our trip, Rayna was the sickest she's ever been, and the week after we got home, the kids were sick again, but for the 6 and a half months that it mattered most to me, God kept them all healthy! 


So, like the Psalmist quoted above, I write this down because I want to record His wondrous deeds!  Not only did we never need any of the medicines we brought, but we never had to visit any sort of medical facility at all (other than for administrative purposes). No one fell out of a tree, or down the ceramic tile stairs, or into a well, or in a pothole, or electrocuted themselves....  or well, anything.  "We give thanks to you, O God..."