No laughing matter....

Usually I'm all for the practical April Fool's Day prank. I enjoy watching just how clever people can be in manipulating others and the other half being just gullible enough to make the entertainment complete.

However, today is not that day.

On Easter Sunday, as you may remember, I woke up with a pulled muscle in my neck. We made it to church where I saw a friend of mine I hadn't seen in a few weeks. We exchanged small talk for a moment and then parted as she said, "Please call me this week."
Well, Brian left for Tennessee that day and was gone until the following Friday. I spent the week trying to manage my neck pain along with the daily tasks of getting Kaliese to school, cooking dinner, washing clothes, etc. My plate was full.
Brian came home and we spent a short time together before he was to leave again the next Sunday. We woke up Sunday morning, after a night of pouring rain, to discover our laundry room and garage had flooded. Monday, dad came by to fill in the gaps around our pipes on the roof to prevent the same from happening again (its supposed to rain all week). While he was here, the boy next door was playing with his BB gun and shot out my glass in my screen door that leads to the backyard. So I dealt with that while trying to get ready for a PTO meeting that was changed at the last minute.
Again, my plate was full.
But along with all of that, I received news that very same friend I was supposed to call last week was in a terrible accident. She was life-flighted to Grady where it was discovered she had broken both ankles, her shoulder and crushed her T5 vertebrae resulting in paralysis from the waist down.
Suddenly, everything on my plate seemed so meaningless. I had been praying for this friend frequently as she had been diagnosed almost two years ago with Lupus. It has been a downhill battle for her and she stayed frustrated about her situation. I helped her out with small things when my schedule allowed; running errands with her, hanging out with her or just trying to encourage her. But the past two months I have not kept contact.
Sure, I could wallow in my own shortcomings as a friend, but that would not help her now; and focusing on myself at a time like this would be too inhuman for words.
As her friend, it is frustrating not being able to do anything to help make this better for her. But ironically that is where my comfort and peace come from. If I were able to help in any way, it would be far too insufficient for her needs. But in my inability, God is able. It is in this position that I have to completely rely on him and not myself. So that is what I offer. My sincerest prayers that his strength fall on her, she will need more than is humanly possible to get through the next few months. What is more amazing is that God could give her everything she needs and still have enough left over to give her family and friends everything they need to receive comfort and strength as well.
Selfishly, on her behalf, I pray for that miracle only he could provide. That she does walk again! But it is no less a miracle that should this condition be permanent, she has the peace and encouragement of spirit to keep fighting, keep living, keep giving God all she has to give.