Monday, February 18, 2013

Many good and beautiful things and a malingering illness

Valentine's Day
I found myself with
very swollen throat and
so a doctor did tests:
no mono, no strep.
I was assured that I was not contagious.
*
Good.
So sick but told I should get better in 48 hours.
*
I had planned on making Mr. Husband
a beautiful more fancy meal
and a cheesecake.
This did not happen;
I was too busy trying to figure out what
doctor I could go to and rushing around
as we had a weekend away planned
starting the next day.
*
So I made pizza
(crust and sauce pre-made).
*
I gave Mr. Husband this DVD
and Mr. Husband gave me this
book on bread
and a CD for us to enjoy.


It was good;
organic ham, some mozzarella and
sauce.

Lit our candles and had
some sparkling juice
that we had been given as a gift
for Christmas.

We went to liturgy for the feast
of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
Candles were blessed at the end of liturgy.

It was a beautiful feast.
 
So then Mr. Husband and I went to our hotel
(of course a picture of our makeshift icon corner
with newly blessed candles!)
and then off to Princeton for the
third annual Florovsky Symposium.
*
It was wonderful.
*
Fr. Patrick Reardon spoke on the Bible and
preached Christ in the same
room where Einstein gave
lectures on the theory of Relativity;
to preach on the Creator of all
in such a room was deeply wonderful and
beautiful.
*
Archbishop Demetrios spoke
the next day on how St. John Chrysostom
love the Bible and that
we can be transformed by reading the
Bible with love
reading it as friend and advocate.
This was by far the highlight for me
in terms of lectures.
*
Really enjoyed two other lectures as well,
a real blessing.
*
And I got to go the book room where
8th Day books
and
Holy Trinity Bookstore
had stands and
Mr. Husband and I both got some books
there, agreeing that we will save them
as gifts for later...
*
So that was wonderful,
though I was still not fully well...
and now, on Monday
it is clear that whatever I am fighting
is lingering on, to the point of getting worse
instead of better...so
it is off to NYC to see the doctor...
and one other thing that I hope to tell
you all about soon!
*
If you could pray for me;
it would be nice to get back to full steam again.
*
I continue to be aware of so many needs and ills
in the world and in the circles of friends and
family.
*
Just today my Mother told me of a young man
in his early 40's unexpected passing from death to life;
the stories of sickness, struggles and uncertainty abound...
*
How much we are in need of the Lord's help,
succor, protection and healing.
Lord Christ come quickly, help and heal us!
Comfort us in our days here
that are so quickly past!

3 comments:

Michelle M. said...

I hope and will pray that you continue to feel better soon. I don't know what types of medication you can or do take, but Nyquil usually knocks a bad cold out of me fairly quickly. Hopefully, the dr will have better advice than I. :)

The Symposium sounds interesting. I'm glad you both had a nice time. This weekend my family is headed to Louisville for the Climacus Conference. This will be the first academically-minded event I have been to in... well, longer than I would like to admit :)

Prayers for a quick recovery!

matushka constantina said...

I hope you're feeling better soon!

I noticed you said a 40 year old man, "passed from death into life", maybe it was a typo, but in fact isn't that the truth?

Up on the old walls of the city here in Thessaloniki someone had spray-painted the words: "Is there life before death?" And isn't that the Christian mindset?

I hope you enjoyed the Florovsky Symposium, we know a number of people who have gone there/ spoken there over the last few years.

elizabeth said...

Mat C: it was not a typo!

:)

Yes, I enjoyed the conference...

Michelle - thanks for your prayers... hope you will enjoy the conference too! sounds wonderful!