Embarrassed

Some People Can Even Hurt Themselves in Their Sleep

Regretfully, Ed, my neighbor next door, heard I had a knee problem. I assured him it was nothing, not even worth mentioning, but he sensed a little embarrassment on my part. Like a blood hound he was relentless in pursuit of the details about my knee. I was slightly embarrassed as Ed has heard rumors of my snoring echoing from the basement to the attic in our house. I did my best to defuse his interrogation but eventually he pried out the source of my knee injury.

It was a simple fall. I landed with my weight going on my knees and one wrist. One knee was particularly sore as was my wrist. It happened when we were staying with family in Ontario, and I was asleep on a couch in the living room, so I didn’t keep everyone awake upstairs with my snoring. I fell off the couch in my sleep and woke up with a thud on my knees and wrist. Thankfully, no one heard me fall, and I went back to sleep. My one knee was sore but it seemed okay. It happened about two nights before we flew home to Saskatchewan. A week later my knee developed a sizeable lump on it. The lump, full of blood, was drained by the doctor and my knee ex-rayed. It is almost healthy again. Ed snickered about my sleeping on the couch so others could escape my snoring. He said that only I could hurt myself in my sleep.

I am thankful that the lump on my knee has gone down. The fall did not affect my snoring one decibel, but that is another story. I’m truly thankful that we have excellent doctors and an equally fine hospital staff here in Melville. Do we forget to count our blessings? Do we speak up in gratitude to those at the hospital we count on for care? Our police officers and our firemen and ambulance personnel may not hear our thanks nearly enough either, but most of us sleep better because we trust their presence and skills.

Saying thank you to others is good for our own souls. Even better for our own souls is thanking God for all his blessings to us. Why do we find that our appreciation sputters, but our complaining flows effortlessly? The Bible tells us to respect those who work hard among us for our spiritual good. We should do no less for those who work hard to ensure our health and safety. God calls us to give thanks in all circumstances.

The Bible relates the occasion where Jesus was amazed at the lack of gratitude he found with ten lepers. The ten begged Jesus from a distance to have mercy on them. “Jesus said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves, to the priests.’ As they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and fell at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Jesus asked, ‘Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this, Samaritan?” Perhaps today, it is still only one person out of ten that makes the effort to praise and to thank God.

 

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