Scrap Of Faith

Would like to share a lesson I learnt this week? ... Here is a summary of my day.

7am - left home to drive to appt for pelvic ultrasound (You know the kind girls, where you have to drink all the water and then hold on) Grrr ….
7.30 Ultrasound appt is across the street from Shopping Centre so had planned to park there. Too early, parking not open, so have to find a spot on the street. Trying not to think about the toilet. Double Grrr ….
7.31 Find a spot right outside PTL! Two hour parking, didn’t kick in until 8.30am so that gave me until 10.30am. Had been told I'd be out and report in hand by 9.30am (seeing doctor at Midday).
7.32 Try to read Scrapbooking Memories to keep mind off things. Have had to leave kids at home which not happy about but no choice and no call yet so they are still asleep PTL. See layouts from Carolina and Ro in SM, but too exciting, makes me think of how much I need to go you-know-where … continuous grrrr ….
7.33-7.45 still sipping
7.50 Ultrasound practice opens. Try and be pleasant and get all paperwork out of the way while keeping legs firmly crossed
7.51-7.54 Try and read trashy mag. Doesn’t help. More grrrr ….
7.55 Cant believe it, only 5 minutes to wait and I SERIOUSLY have to go - but not just number 1's - feel definite attack of diarrhoea on the way! Receptionist suggests I try to just let 'a little' go. (Don’t know if anyone else finds this as impossible as I do - even my husband knew that just wasn’t going to happen when I told him later)
7.56 - yep, - well I'll spare you the details but suffice to say I'm sitting there now fully swigging two bottles of water quick smart! Grrr gurgle ..
8.02 Called in for ultrasound. At this point I'm told it will also be an internal ultrasound as well. No hassle, had that before. The external part took about 2 minutes tops (that's what all the water is for, and apparently it made no difference that I'd only drunk it two minutes before!!!)
8.05 Now she tells me to empty my bladder COMPLETELY before the internal. Well that's a bit of a job, my body is in such confusion by this stage. Have to have two go's at it.
8.25 All finished, dressed, back out to the counter. “So I come back at 9.30am, right? To get my report? Get home to my kids?”
“Oh no madam, doctor doesn’t look at anything until at least 9.30am so it will be 10am at the earliest. Come back then”. GGGGGRRRRRR!!!!!!!
8.26 Ring DH, give update, concerned about kids, have they called? No, all quiet. Have breakfast - very nice, but you guessed it, poor old bladder is still trying to get rid of two bottles of water. Probably now know location of every loo in Miranda Fair.
10am - back at Ultrasound. “Can I have my report please”?
“Oh sorry, we are having problems with computer system, films are ready but no report. You'll just have to wait”.
“But ... my kids have been home alone since 7am – I have to get home!”
“Sorry madam. Cant be helped”.
“And, how strict are they on the two hour parking out the front?”
“VERY”.
10.10am Call girlfriend who organised appointment for advice - can I have report faxed to doctor and take the films myself? No, legally they can’t separate them. She will call them to see if they might make an exception.
10.12am Daughter calls – “when are you coming home Mum?” Upset to hear about delay. “Why can’t you come now?” (Grrr just doesn’t cut it here, what’s the abbreviation for utter turmoil and guilt?)
10.15am I station myself at front counter where I can see my car and hopefully any parking police lurking. Too late to try and park in shopping centre now - school holidays, cinemas ... forget it!
10.25am A lady pulls up out front to park behind me - I rush out and ask her to 'swap' spots with me so I now have a 'new' 2 hour spot. It's a tight squeeze, hope the 4WD behind me doesn’t want to get out in the next 5 minutes ...
10.45am Another loo stop
10.46am Return the loo key and receptionist hands me my films - Cool! “Is the report done then?”
“No, will have to fax it”.
10.47 In the car, let's go, still time to get home and calm little daughter before I have to get to doctor's.
10.47 Car dies.
10.48 Call dear husband - I need a hero!!!
(Would like to say the next part was really prayerful and godly but ... it wasn’t .Visions of VERY ANGRY 4WD driver returning to their car and unable to get it out because I’m in the way.
10.50 Sit and wait for NRMA road service to come.
AHA!!! A light bulb moment. I text Sal and ask her to pray - something like 'disaster morning and now car has died and Claire home without me and upset'
Sal answers and prays.
10.51 NRMA man calls me - just a couple of minutes more
10.53 NRMA man arrives. Diagnoses dead battery. But we only had the battery checked last week? Well, sometimes they just have 'heart attacks' and die. Really? I smell a rat!
11am NRMA man escorts me to Auto Electrician and comes and pleads my case for immediate repair so I can make my appointment. By this time I just wanna get home!!!
11.05 I call doctor's and let them know what is happening, can I come later in the day? “No, and no report faxed yet either. Call us when you know whether you can still make it”.
11.10 Speak to dear son who knew I was late from my husband but didn’t know about the car. Tries to comfort his sister but a bit of a tall order.
11.15 speak to friend from Ultrasound - computers still bung, no report for noon appointment is possible.
11.20 Back on the road. Praise the Lord! Call dear husband, who is amazed I'm back on the road in such a short period of time. (Usually a minimum of one hour wait before NRMA serviceman even arrives, and in wet weather it’s even longer – and of course it was showery). He reminds me I have a big God. Ooops. Sometimes I need reminding.
11.21 Call doctor - they have a cancellation - can I come at 4.30pm instead? Ooh yeh! 11.30 Call in and pick up my Grandma - was supposed to be picking her up after doctor's, glad she is ready, need to get home!
Noon - Home at last! YAY! Little daughter VERY happy. Everyone now pleased I managed to buy Krispy Kreme donuts while I killed time between loo stops at Miranda.
4pm Call doctor's to see if report had turned up - no. They will follow up.
5pm See doctor - yes, had an ovarian cyst which explained the cyclical pain over many months but it had 'exploded' and was in the midst of resolving itself. YAY!

I mentioned to doctor that on the day of my last appointment with him when we decided to organise ultrasound etc, I had pain that afternoon but the next day it was gone - this was unusual because in previous months the pain had lasted for about a week each time. He said that in all likelihood that was the day that the cyst 'exploded' and what we were seeing now on the ultrasound was all the evidence of the bleeding as it resolved itself.

So what is the point of all this? What is the lesson I have learnt from it all?

The power of prayer.

Yesterday was such a comedy of errors, and I didn’t handle it so very well. I did pray but I was a bit too stressed to think straight (that's what a full bladder and stressing about my kids always does to me) but things only started to straighten themselves out when I thought to ask someone to pray for me (thanks Sal).

I should have asked for prayer myself from all of you Scrap of Faith sisters prior to the appointment. I'm always quick to say to people that no request is too small, or you shouldn’t be put off when others have concerns that seem so much more weighty. But I fell into my own trap there, I read posts the night before that made my need seem so trivial and I committed the sin of hypocrisy and I didn’t ask. Please forgive me girls for being a hypocrite and not practicing what I preach – oops! And I’m so sorry Lord!

But I did ask for prayer from two of my Scrap of Faith sisters prior to my initial doctor’s appointment. I shared my concerns and what I was worried that the doctor might find and they added their prayers to mine for that appointment. To find that there had been a problem but it was likely healed on the very day they had been praying for my healing is a wonderful God-incidence so I want to thank Him and glorify Him – and thank Sal and Ro who were praying for me.

So even when I’m being distracted by everything the enemy wants to throw at me, when I remember to call on Him or ask someone to call on Him with me because I’m unable, He always answers our prayers.

So the lesson I’ve learnt? The moral of the story?

There’ll be lessons to learn every day. The “Teacher” is always in the classroom, waiting. I just have to remember to check in and PRAY!!!!

By Tracey Smith