There are two things I received for Christmas this year that I wish I could take back. But unfortunately, they must not have come with a gift receipt, because I can't find it anywhere. Not under the tissue paper....not taped to the inside of the box...not resting neatly in a cutely decorated envelope on top. Returning the items is impossible. The demand for them is extremely low, if non-existent. Nobody wants these....not now, not ever. Once you get them, you are stuck with them. However, the potential of "re-gifting" is very high. And if you are not careful, you can "re-gift" to more than one person, making you the enemy of many. Thankfully, I only "re-gifted" to one......and she has a very forgiving heart. (Sorry, Faith!)
This Christmas, I experienced the "gift that keeps on giving" in both a cold and the stomach flu. It is amazing that your body is willing to host a series of different germs at the same time. I was hoping one might say to the other, "Sorry, there is no room at the inn," but that didn't happen. On our last day of visiting family in MI, I felt it coming on.....the flu that is. I was sitting next to my step-mom in a movie theater, enjoying Enchanted for a second time with the girls, when I leaned over to her and whispered, "I'm sick." I think Enchanted is just a little over two hours....but it lost its "enchantment" with me. The movie felt like it lasted well beyond "they lived happily ever after," and I kept dwelling on the cleanliness of the theater bathroom, wondering how close I would come to having to know it well.
We returned to my Dad's house, and it was a welcomed sight. Except.... one thought occurred to me. "It is difficult to be sick in someone else's house." You feel terrible about it. You know that you are just one big mass of contamination, but there is very little you can do about it. This is where people with the gift of hospitality have to draw the line. And I don't blame them. I am very grateful that my "re-gift" hasn't seemed to hit them. They are in the clear.
Our ride back to Columbus was sprinkled with blurred visions of each Rest Area through the passenger side window, as my husband raced home at feverish speed. (Get it....feverish??)
My house, my bathroom, my bedroom, and my bed never looked so beautiful as it did then. The taste of 7-Up and crackers will be removed from my diet for a while. I think I have had my fill. But I am totally grateful for God's healing of the body. He is truly the "Gift that Keeps on Giving."
This Christmas, I experienced the "gift that keeps on giving" in both a cold and the stomach flu. It is amazing that your body is willing to host a series of different germs at the same time. I was hoping one might say to the other, "Sorry, there is no room at the inn," but that didn't happen. On our last day of visiting family in MI, I felt it coming on.....the flu that is. I was sitting next to my step-mom in a movie theater, enjoying Enchanted for a second time with the girls, when I leaned over to her and whispered, "I'm sick." I think Enchanted is just a little over two hours....but it lost its "enchantment" with me. The movie felt like it lasted well beyond "they lived happily ever after," and I kept dwelling on the cleanliness of the theater bathroom, wondering how close I would come to having to know it well.
We returned to my Dad's house, and it was a welcomed sight. Except.... one thought occurred to me. "It is difficult to be sick in someone else's house." You feel terrible about it. You know that you are just one big mass of contamination, but there is very little you can do about it. This is where people with the gift of hospitality have to draw the line. And I don't blame them. I am very grateful that my "re-gift" hasn't seemed to hit them. They are in the clear.
Our ride back to Columbus was sprinkled with blurred visions of each Rest Area through the passenger side window, as my husband raced home at feverish speed. (Get it....feverish??)
My house, my bathroom, my bedroom, and my bed never looked so beautiful as it did then. The taste of 7-Up and crackers will be removed from my diet for a while. I think I have had my fill. But I am totally grateful for God's healing of the body. He is truly the "Gift that Keeps on Giving."
Posts
