You sat down next to me

So last night I inadvertently stabbed myself in the eye with something sharp and pointy.  


It wasn't a pleasant experience, Lord, and not one I'd want to repeat, so next time you can see it about to happen, by all means feel free to intervene. Three and a half hours in A&E wasn't particularly edifying, either. In fact, yesterday wasn't up there with Great Days of My Life for many reasons.

But you can bring some good out of any situation, can't you?  And I have to say that I was touched last night at people's concern, and coming to be with me in hospital for three and a half hours was way beyond the call of duty I am sure.  


I sat there, unable to open my eye properly, tears streaming down my face (and no handkerchief, imagine that when your nose is running out of control), thoroughly miserable,  and I felt someone sit down next to me.  


Friends like that are worth their weight in chocolate. 


But the one thing that has come out of it is that life can be rearranged if it needs to be. Thanks to some good friends and my Mum I didn't do any school or nursery runs this morning and after sorting out the children with breakfast and book bags/hair bobbles/snacks/items for show and tell/money for school trips/shoes/coats/gloves/hats etc I took myself off to bed and slept for a record five hours. 


I ended up missing a meeting last night that I really wanted to go to and had something planned tonight that I've had to cancel too. At the beginning of this week I was quite stressed out about how to fit in everything that needed doing before the weekend and now... I am getting extra sleep instead of rushing about like a mad thing. 


What do I learn from this? That I'm not indispensable?  That my health is more important than individual things that only seem important?  That it is actually possible to re-order priorities at the drop of a hat when I have a hole in my eye?  


Or that I have some very good friends who will sit late at night next to me in the overstretched emergency department while I clutch at my head and sniff and cry intermittently?


I am blessed indeed.  I'm blessed that I have two eyes that work, and I'm blessed that I can stab myself in one of them and get it treated and that it'll be fine again in a few days. (Not that I intend to take that one for granted). I'm blessed to have friends I can rely on, and I'm blessed that I have one friend in particular  who has the heart to do something lovely and unasked for and perceptive for me despite her own tiredness and stresses. I had a chance to sleep lots today but she didn't. I am more touched than I can say. I hope that one day I have the opportunity to do the same for her. 


Well, I don't, because that means that she's sitting in A&E having injured herself in some way, but you know what I mean.


I was trying to pray while I was waiting on my own last night and all I could come up with was 'Lord, be in this with me'.  


And you were. 


You sat down next to me.