Old and New Wounds

 The storm of life hit like a hurricane last week.

First, I came down with hives. While my doctor could not pinpoint a cause, a good friend told me her husband gets them when he leaves the air-conditioned house and steps into high temperatures. That made sense. My husband keeps the house between 68 and 70 degrees because he can no longer tolerate warm temperatures. We’ve had record highs of 100 to 109 degrees, and I’m in and out of the house for various reasons throughout the day. (My doctor suggested Benadryl and cortisone cream to help with the discomfort. The combination does help.)

The next wave was even bigger. My sister and I had a misunderstanding over my mother’s memorial. We both have wounds from so many losses, hurts and bad relationships that our emotions are in overload just discussing the details for the memorial. I’m not sure about her, but my dreams and nightmares have already begun just thinking of going back to my hometown for another funeral.

She changed our original plans, and I balked. First she chose August 11, the hottest month of the year. I responded with a litany of issues with the changes in the service and traveling 10 hours across the barren desert in the extreme heat. (My hometown is in the mountains in south central Oregon. To get there, I have to travel through the Oregon desert. There are no services for hundreds of miles — no rest areas, service stations or restaurants. Driving is the only option as there is no bus, no train, or airport.)

My sister thought I was saying the memorial was too much of an inconvenience and I rather not come. She broke off the discussion and I thought we’d never speak again.

The emotional turmoil and guilt affected my blood sugar, as well as my emotions. If only I had held my temper in check…

I turned to my prayer warriors.

 God responded.

These memes popped up on social media, including the one at the top of this post.  

The next evening, my sister contacted me. She hadn’t explained her reasons behind the change in our plans or thought about the difficulties of traveling in the heat. (She lives three hours away and doesn’t have to cross the desert.)

I compromised on the service details. She offered to move the memorial to this fall. We both agreed our discussions were cathartic, and we are even closer now.  

 Our Daily Bread for today quoted Revelation 21:4. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.”

A timely reminder that the pain of this world is temporary.

“Dear Lord, you made a way for the Israelites through the desert. You’ll do the same for me, both for the travel and the emotional rollercoaster.” Amen.