i'm back in the land of the living

Last Monday, after Scott and I rode our bikes
to a coffee shop for a mid-morning date,
I promptly settled down to write the day away...
and all hell broke loose.
4 hours later as I tried to get up from my chair,
I realized my lower lumber region had
seized up like a 90 year old granny's.
By evening, I was down for the count.
The last 8 days I have been laid out on the couch,
hopped up on anti-flammatories and muscle relaxants,
trying to get my back to un-spasm.
Apparently, it didn't want to. It enjoys spasming.
This rendered me completely useless to teach at the preschool
or work towards my looming book deadline.
And of course, Scott, who never leaves the SF Peninsula,
was scheduled to fly out for a dear friend's wedding.
It is less than ironic that this book I am working on
touches on the subject of control issues....
and trusting God and the like.
Clearly, God actually wanted me to live out what I was writing about.
(Next time I am going to write a book about millionaire moms and
see if God wants me to walk that out...)
But needless to say, being put in a place of absolutely no control,
God chose to overwhelm me with the kindness of others.
My boss, Paula, ordered me home to bed and sent chocolates to comfort me.
My editor, Vicki, gave me an extension on my book deadline.
My friends, Paula and Shane and Marty brought delicious meals,
Jenn picked up my kids from school and delivered them home
along with some dee-lish pulled pork.
My mother-in-law, Lola, and sister Jenny came and kept watch
over me, taking care of my boys, picking up toys and getting
the house ready for church on Sunday.
The boys thought they had died and gone to heaven having their
cousin Drew on site for 2 days in a row.
Sunday morning brought Glenn and Paula early to the house,
to set up chairs for our small group, prepping for our group,
laying out a scrumptious spread and even doing a load of laundry.
My friends and family lifted me up when I was brought so low.
Clearly, the concept of "it takes a village" was not lost on me.
I was humbled and brought to tears by the goodness of others.
What can be said? Maybe that when things are out of my control
they are way better than normal. Great, even!
And I believe that slowly but surely, the Lord is healing my back.
Just yesterday, I was able sit up for over 15 minutes.
This is no small thing. I am starting this week out grateful,
a little slow and a little more thoughtful, as I move to put
pen to paper (or fingertips to keyboard.)
It seems all too clear Who is calling the shots around here.
So today I'm going to rest in that...
that and a handful of ibuprofen.