sick & sermons & such

so, as far as the sick scale goes, this week's been bad. awful, really. (including an all-night puking/shaking session on wednesday & lots of dizziness yesterday & today.)

i was thinking about just how bad i felt while driving to laramie, when a sermon popped onto the radio! (& it literally popped on--i was listening to a justin-timberlake-ish channel & it just mysteriously switched.) i don't even know who the preacher was, but he was talking about being thankful for people & thankful with people & praying for our friends but also stopping to give thanks to them (& God) when they display his grace to us.

it was really good to hear. being sick, i can get a bit self-referential. it's hard to get out of your own head when you feel exhausted or sick (or dizzy, like today.) but i would like to make a short list of things i've been recently thankful for, that i might not have noticed as much if i wasn't sick:

1. my doctor, amy, who gives me hugs and pats me on the back & has met with me every single week since mid-february. she also calls all sorts of people to ask them about me (so i don't have to pay to see them) & is willing to do pretty much any test. what a nice doctor, huh? it's hard to imagine a nicer one. she even invited me to stay at her house one night when i felt really bad.

2. my parents' church. one of the elders there, ted, came up to my dad last week & told him that they had all decided to pray for me. i was pretty shocked. i didn't even know they knew i was sick. but it was a real encouragement.

3. my boss, mary, who took over teaching my class for two and a half weeks, let me join their family basketball pool & offered to have me live at her house for free this summer (& has three great, hilarious, kids) my professor, kate, too, came & stayed at my house one night when i had my blood pressure crash. even my students have been great, sending me lots of funny internet cards. & my thesis adviser, beth, had me stay at her house two nights, too & hang out with her cats.

4.my far-away friends. i've been especially thankful for friends lately & good long friendships. i've made lots of late-night and early-morning calls to kristin jones bankston, who always picks up. it's also really been fun to catch up with everybody via these blogs (& hear some great funny stories.) friends are essential.

5.jimmy john's sandwiches. the only food that currently doesn't make me sick. & thank goodness, they're cheap!

well, that's enough for now. sappy though it may be, i'm genuinely thankful for all these people and things.