A blog post not about laundry, but about anticipating
Living in a country that is in the slowest twenty countries for broadband speed means I am familiar with the spinning loading circle as a website loads or even as I try to save something on the server. Sometimes I use that waiting time wisely, and sometimes I just stare, thinking the action will happen at any moment. That’s how the last month has been…anticipating that the action will happen at any moment.
My sister got married in mid-April. It was a wonderful, God-honoring celebration. For the six weeks prior there was a lot of planning and preparation that the whole family got to be involved in. There were decisions to be made, specific items to find, and people and parties to host. Our immediate family participated joyfully while all looking forward to post-wedding downtime too.
But the post-wedding downtime has looked far, far different than what anybody predicted. My mother had a high fever and significant weakness the Tuesday after the wedding (this was essentially our first downtime day because of out-of-town guests and such). We consulted with her doctor and took her to the hospital for what we thought would be a brief stay for IV antibiotics to treat a UTI. It turned into 22 days in the hospital. She experienced just about every complication during the hospital stay. I’m typing this from where she is currently in a rehab facility, as it is going to take intense therapy for her to regain strength and retrain her muscles.
While at the hospital, I anticipated some change everyday. We never seemed to know what was going to come next as she experienced neurological, cardiac, and digestive complications. I kept thinking she was on the cusp of being discharged, and then something else would happen. We did a lot of loading and spinning. We got into a rhythm of anticipation, staring at the loading wheel, wondering what would come up. I put off updates because I figured everything would change. I don’t know that I’m out of that mode yet, but we have found some stability at the rehab facility in the last five days. The physical therapists and other staff are hopeful and encouraging, and my mom is making tangible progress.
This experience has solidified a change in ministry for me, and I’m spinning a little bit as we figure out what that means. I need to remain in the States until my parents are well and in a viable living situation; I can honor them by being physically near to support them in this. After ten years on the field, my home assignment ends in July. I will be serving in missionary kid education for NTM PNG full-time and remotely starting in July, with the possibility of returning to the field at anytime. I’ll know more as we (the other school administrators and I) hash out what that means, and I’ll update y’all. I already know there’s more than a full-time job’s worth of work to do remotely to support missionary families in this way. In the meantime, thank you for your prayers and encouragement and support.