Did you watch cartoons when you were a kid? My favorite was “The Coyote and The Roadrunner.” In the episode “Scrambled Aches,” Wile E. Coyote was flattened by a steamroller. Recently, I felt like that that had happened to me and I brought it on myself.
Why would I do such a thing? Let me backtrack a little here. When I was in the third grade, the Chicken Pox virus ran rampant in my school and church. My mom took me to the doctor when one of my close friends came down with it. He thought that I could have been a carrier. That meant while I had the virus in me, I wouldn’t get sick from it. Eventually, I forgot all about the Chicken Pox, that is until my daughter Sara caught it. It was her second Christmas and I was giving her a bath when I noticed a few spots on her upper back. The more I looked, the more spots I found on her neck and scalp. As I took care of her the next few days, I waited for those same spots to appear on me next. After all, your body changes as you grow older. Maybe I would finally catch it. I didn’t.
No, I’m not bragging about it. Listen, every time a stomach virus came around, it had my name on it. I used to joke that I probably spent a fourth of childhood with my head in a bucket. Not only that, but I always got it worse than everyone else. Recently I asked my doctor about why I caught stomach viruses but not the other ones. He smiled and said: “That’s just you.” Okay, I apparently have a unique immune system. One that didn’t need to be toyed with.
I had known people who came down with the shingles. They suffered immensely and that was one experience I didn’t want. With my strange immune system, there was only one thing to do: take the shingles vaccine. Before I received my first shot, the pharmacist warned me it could knock me down for a couple of days. Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad. My arm was sore for a few days and I felt a little run down. No big deal. On the 31st, I took my second shot. Again, the pharmacist warned me, but this time he told me it would be worse than the first time. Boy, was he right. For one, my arm was extremely sore for the next two days. It was even hard to sleep since I couldn’t get my arm in a comfortable position. I developed a fevers a I began to shiver. Tim was amazed that I was actually shaking as I was wrapped in two blankets. On top of that I didn’t have much of an appetite and felt nauseas. Plus, I no energy at all. I felt miserable all day. As I laid on the couch, I thought back to the Coyote getting flattened by a steam roller. That was pretty much how I felt. Tim reminded me that it was of my own doing. I replied: “I would rather go through this for a short while instead of having the Shingles.” In other words, it was worth it to me.
“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Luke 22:44 (KJV)
The more I learn about what all Jesus suffered before and during His crucifixion, the more I am amazed at this verse. He knew exactly what He was going to have to endure; and yet He still went through it in order to redeem us from our sins. His love for us is so great that we were worth it to Him. That’s the God I serve.
By the second day, my arm pain had diminished and I felt more normal. Wait a minute, that’s a term I don’t usually use to describe me. How about I felt more like my old self.