Simply not the break I had in mind

It's been two weeks since
I fell ill with something that my doctor
calls mono and that has
my throat swollen.
*
I had forgotten how frustrating it is
to just be home and be so limited
in what I can do.
*
I had broken my foot a few years ago
so I've had a go of time when I could do very little.
*
So to say I wanted to get out of the house
is an understatement at this point.
*
Well,
I got out of the house.
*
One moment I am dreaming of all I want to do
when I am better from whatever I have
and the next I have this sudden
almost-everywhere allergic reaction
going on while Mr. Husband is at work and
am told by my doctor's nurse to call
911 and go to ER by ambulance.

By the time Mr. Husband comes
carrying this beautiful single
rose that he got outside of the transit depot
I have my go-back-home-papers
with very little medicine
and nothing but conflicting information
in what felt a frustrating comedy of errors.
That am my doctor said never take
the antibiotic I am currently on again.

 

The mugs I ordered came in the mail,
the ones so there is one less thing to worry 
about in the dishwasher mugs.
*
One side says
love
and the other
endures all things.
*
I guess this is what I am called to endure right now.
*
Meanwhile,
I hope my insomnia will subside,
I hope the allergic reaction will continue to subside
and this past night
Mr. Husband and I watched
the first third of
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
that we talked about watching on our honeymoon
but never go to actually watching.
*
My yarn and needles came.
I now am knitting the dish cloth on circular needles
which is nice,
no more dropping stitches.
I got some longer needles too that I am
experimenting with and some new yarns;
soft, great colours.
*
The mercy of the Lord endures forever, hallelujah
is in my head,
a honestly wonderful song
I heard the other day again
on Ancient Faith Radio.
*
I am still dreaming of baking bread again
and a normal Saturday with Mr. Husband
with I in the kitchen frying up
potatoes in oil or butter
and enjoying my red flour and sugar pots
in my kitchen with sunlight pouring in.

Protection during unexpected times

One of my favourite icons of the Theotokos

is this one,

the Protection of the Mother of God.

I also love St. Phanourios.

In the past two years I have asked his prayers

at various times

and have a service to him in English.

St. Phanourios'

prayers help people find things,

often deep things,

like spiritual fathers, jobs, life direction.

I have asked his protection on many occasions

and for his provision.

This past September I asked his help

for a request very dear and close to my heart.

So close that for months afterwards

I could not blog about it at all.

Well,

at the eve of Great Lent, it is time to share

what I have been given.

It was completely unexpected

and is flipping my life utterly upside down.

Soon I will change my living room
icon corner icons
for lent.
The Mother of God will stay in the centre
and Christ the Bridegroom
and
St. Ephraim the Syrian
will flank her on each side.
Waiting for the time when I change these icons for
my Paschal icons of
Christ's Resurrection
and the icon of
the Theotokos Life Giving Spring.

What I have to tell you now is so big
in my small life
the life of one
Orthodox woman who is also
a librarian
with the Cutest Cat in Canada
that I have started a new blog
for this new beginning.

I don't plan on stopping my blog here
but needed a different blog outlet...
right now I don't have the comments on for this
new blog
as I am still in the
processing-needing-some-silence-stage
but it is finally time to share it with you.
Wonderful and totally
unexpected.

While the sun shines on...

I took this picture the other day
during a morning rain storm.
Today the sun comes and goes...

Cleo hard at work, as per usual.
It's been great to do work this week.
Had book club last night.
We are slowly approaching the virtues in
St. John's book, the ladder.
It's been a good read,
but I can tell I will have to read it again,
each line of it brims with meaning...
*
After book club I heard of something
terrible...
(so if you can't handle sad and terrible you can stop reading....
just in case you'd rather stay with the sunshine part of this
post, I won't mind).

*
Yesterday in Grand Rapids (i.e. home)
there was a terrible tragedy.
A man took the life of his former wife, her parents and his girl friend
and his kids too. 7 dead and then he died too,
his own hand killing then a total of 8.
So so so sad.
Before he died he had gone to a house and taken hostages
and the house he chose was near to a house
where some of my family lives
(not my parents but other family)....
Sorry to write of such a sad thing
but it was so crazy to call my Mom and hear that
this was happening
at the moment I called her...
the murderer was still alive, the cops surrounding the area...
I prayed to the Mother of God for all involved;
the Mother of God - Quick to Hear...
*
I am so thankful that my family is safe,
that the hostages lived,
that my family's house was not the one that
the man choose;
will be praying for those so suddenly taken from this earth.
*
All I know is that God is near to those in trouble.
*
Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.