Throughout the years, our daughter Kristin has had more than her share of medical challenges. She has had an usually difficult time with auto immune issues and I have made it a priority to go with Kristin to her infusions and other medical procedures – kind of a medical buddy! We usually take photos and memorialize her infusions as they are completed. We have great conversations – that is, until she falls asleep from all the meds they have to infuse before they get to the heavy duty stuff… then I just sit there, watching and waiting the three or four hours until she is finished and we can return home.
Last week, however, something different happened. Kristin fell on some wet, slippery leaves and broke her left ankle. After a trip to the emergency room with x-rays and medical attendants, the diagnosis was confirmed – a clean break in her fibula. After being measured for a boot, and seeing not one, but two, orthopedic docs we thought we knew what to expect for the next six weeks.
However, Thanksgiving evening Kristin was at our home and in some rather severe discomfort. To cut to the chase, Friday morning she returned to the doc for the purpose of having her boot adjusted. To her, and our, surprise they were hesitant to adjust the boot without an ultrasound scan and blood test. They suspected a blood clot in her lower leg.
Sure enough, after a day in the emergency room, she was admitted as a patient and is now on blood thinners with the goal of dissolving the clot. We hope to have her back home in several days for the beginning of a three month treatment plan. But the thing that caught my attention this evening is the fact that there is a “high alert” on her room signage with the warning that Kristin is “medically fragile.”
Now I know that she has been through quite a bit, but her attitude is inspirational and it is difficult to acknowledge that there is anything “fragile” about our oldest daughter. The truth is that she has to take it easy and realize that she is not invincible. While I was thinking about the doctor’s assessment of her condition, I realized that all of us, at one time or another, are spiritually fragile.
We can have strong faith and a great attitude but sometimes we can still have a tough day. That’s when we really need our friends and a terrific support system to walk beside us and help to share our burden, whatever it may be. Too many of us think that we can go it alone, but that’s not the way that God wired us. We are to be a community of people – relational beings who function best when they are together.
Our verse for tonight reminds us that Jesus can take on all our problems and doesn’t even need our help to shoulder our concerns. He is with us always, to the end of the age and beyond, into all eternity. Matthew, the author of the Gospel that bears his name, tells us in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
This is one of the verses that I tend to rely on when times are tough. I love the simplicity of it – straightforward and understandable. Jesus invites us to cast our burdens on Him. My encouragement tonight is that Jesus is serious in His invitation to us. And that means that when we get overwhelmed we have a failsafe way to deal with our problems. My prayer is that we will all, as believers, cast our fears and troubles on the Lord of the universe. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…