CNS Photo
THE MARRIED LIFE
We recently noticed that one of our neighbors had not been outside in a while. Neither had his wife. We began to wonder if they had COVID-19, and after several days we left a note on their door but got no response. Two weeks later an ambulance came and took the husband away.
Another week went by with no contact, but then we saw him arrive back home with oxygen tanks. He had lost weight and was weak and needed help to his door.
Eventually the neighbors told us their story. They said they both had tested positive for COVID and were told to quarantine in their home. The man’s siblings would bring them food and leave it at their front door. The husband became progressively worse, and when he felt like he couldn’t breathe, an ambulance was called.
At the hospital he was put on a ventilator, but remained lightly sedated. He was miserable. He said he was cold most of the time despite being covered with blankets. There was a phone in the ward and his wife could talk to him, but he couldn’t talk back and it just made her worry to see him.
Meanwhile, his wife lost her appetite, was weak and spent her days in bed. She worried about her husband and missed her deceased parents.
The couple is slowly recovering. The man has finally weaned off the oxygen, though his strength has not yet returned.
The husband said the hardest part of the whole experience was the loss of contact with his family when he was in the hospital. The attentive care of the doctors and nurses was no substitute for the love and support of his family.
Now back home, his prevailing attitude is one of gratitude. He is grateful to be home again, grateful to be recovering, and most of all, he thanks the Lord that he is alive.
This past Thanksgiving, my neighbor’s story made me think about and appreciate all the blessings I have and sometimes take for granted: my husband, children and grandchildren, family, community and church friends, and the grace of life itself. I do not have a life without difficulties or concerns, but when I saw how grateful my neighbors were after their trial with the coronavirus, it prompted me to be more grateful.
Ordinary life has its share of burdens and concerns, but there are always things for which to be grateful. Having thankful hearts remind us of how God has cared for and rescued us in the past, and that gives us hope for whatever the future may hold.
“In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Thank you neighbors!
