Light Thinking for Monday Morning

Since last summer, my husband has had one cold after another. It's that whole thing where you are sickest the first year of living or working somewhere new. It's a thing! I thought I had escaped all of the colds and flu for the most part. I mean it's a fair assumption since I've had much bigger issues to deal with, right?

So, last Thursday, I spent all day curled up in five blankets on the bed. I didn't have many more symptoms than being cold and a sore throat, but I was exhausted. Then Friday was a bit better, but stuffier nose. Then Saturday, I felt great! Sunday was kind of the same. I went to church, out for lunch, finished my history homework. 

Then I hit the wall. I got tired again and every inch of my head was either stuffy or ached. I think today, Monday, is probably the worst. My head feels heavy. My ears are clogged. My nose is runny. My eyes feel like they are going to pop out of my head. Yes, I do believe I am in full blown cold mode. 

Why is it that when you have a cold, it feels like it's never going to go away? Colds usually last 7-14 days, with the worst being 5-7 days. But we always feel like we have a cold forever. Not only that, but every cold we have is the worst we've ever had. How funny is that? 

I know some are worse than others. This one isn't terrible. My ear pressure is probably worse than normal and so is my exhaustion level. However, I can attribute my increased exhaustion to my body working hard to fend off one virus after another. I am just now to the end of the Bells Palsy. With my ears, I know the BP is also a culprit for that as well. My BP left me with an inflamed eustachian tube. But this certainly isn't the worst I've ever had.

I think as we get older, we become less tolerant of things that get us down. That brings me to point of what is on my mind today. 

The older we get, the more things change for us in all facets of our lives. I saw that in my husband this weekend. 

As I've said before, my husband looks at things much differently than me. Because he does, he doesn't have the same anxieties that I do. He doesn't typically overthink things. He also has a strong faith that God is in control of his mortality.

I think it is probably because he is approaching 50, that some of this is getting tested in him. Last week, he lost a classmate. Not one he was particularly close to. In fact, he saw him in September and didn't really know who he was. However, when someone you grew up with and is only a few days older than you dies, it shakes some of what you thought to be solid within you.

This passing has made him consider his own mortality. Something we all know will come, but have no clue when. I know it made him consider his legacy. It touched on his deepest fears, that his life has meant nothing and that he has achieved nothing.

I think we can let satan warp our thoughts and make us forget exactly what value our life does have. 

My husband would never tell you this, but he has had a career full of recognition and high praise. He does his job well and with a strong set of ethics. Since he has spent most of his career in aerospace. Ethics are vital when you work in a field where millions of lives depend on you doing the right thing. 

I can't tell you the number of certificates, gift cards, letters, etc., that he has brought home since we have been married. All for a job well done.

He is also an amazing husband. If I had to list the number of things he has had to forgive me for just so we can stay married, you'd think he was a saint. Seriously, he is a much better person than I could ever be. But he is loyal and dedicated and loves when people don't deserve it.

He is loved by his family. With his mom's illness, there are a lot of issues within his family. But they all love him and they know he loves them. His dad has a difficult time communicating how he feels directly to his children. But, he would tell you that his first born son makes him proud. He would tell you that he sees the most of himself in my husband. 

I think there are so many things in life that challenge the reality we know by tapping into our emotions. If it's a cold or the death of a classmate, I think we have to think realistically at what we know to be true and the truth that God gives us. Is our thinking swayed by emotion or truth? Are we aligning our thoughts with satan or God? 

Just a little light thinking for a Monday morning.