April 8th, 2010
Of Fur Bunnies and Pianos
This morning, when I awoke my son, daughter and husband had already completed most of the housework, so we had breakfast, a very late breakfast I might add, and then the children washed and dried the breakfast dishes.
When they had finished the breakfast dishes, my daughter went off with her dad to collect firewood from one of the local farms, as a HUGE tree has come down in the paddock that they will be sowing very shortly. My son stayed home with me so that he could finish the vacuuming and mop the verandahs. He was still completing the dishes when I noticed fur bunnies along the skirting boards and the carpet near the skirting boards – aargh – this is why my asthma has been so severe, lately, so I took hold of the vacuum cleaner, thinking that I could actually help with the housework. Silly me!
No such luck – I had nearly finished along the edges of the skirting boards in the loungeroom, and was vacumming one of the corners that didn’t look as if it had been vacuumed for a very long while, when it started. I coughed and coughed, my breathing became more difficult and then the wheezing started. My son was up in his bedroom, and I thought that he was never going to come down, but eventually he did, and I gasped, “Nebuliser,” at him. Of course, where was it? In the car. Where was the car? Not here! Darn it! Usually we are all together as a family, but the wood needed to be cut and the housework finished, and we couldn’t be in two places at once.
He wanted to call an ambulance, but living out here, the calls all go to Adelaide for ambulance, and by the time he had explained where we were, it would have been too late. He jumped on his bicycle and rode the three kilometres to where my husband and daughter were cutting wood, and found them just arriving there after going to see about buying some oats. He threw the bike into the trailer, and they drove home and set up the nebuliser. I was so hot and unable to breathe, but somehow God sustained me through it all.
There were two lessons learned from this -
- Lesson one is that the nebuliser needs to be with me at all times, which was the reason that we left it in the car in the first place.
- Lesson two is that I need to explain to our children exactly how things need to be done.
Yes, it’s easier to do things ourselves – well, sometimes! It takes time and effort to show our children how we want things done, but how will they learn unless we teach them?
The things of God are learned in the same way -
It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. John 6:45
My son is learning well, and this afternoon he has used the crevice tool to clean along the edges, and even went as far as to shift the piano, which hasn’t been shifted for a very long time. Now all that we need to be able to do is to shift it back… It weighs a ton! My husband and son managed to shift it back, and my son commented, “Now I have gorilla arms – they have stretched that far!” Now, I wonder, how often should we shift the piano???
I praise God that He strengthens us through times of trials, and He gives us His Peace – the verse that I remembered today was:~
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee:
because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3
and He did ~ He kept me in perfect peace!
I am a daughter of the King of Kings, seeking to live a godly life and mirror the love of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
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I am so glad that your story ended well – it must have been scary for you waiting. Poor thing. What a blessed son you have hoping on his bike and riding the 3kms, he was probably getting quite stressed as he rode.
I just love the verse you included – it is one of my favourites. You were never alone.
God Bless
Jo
Hi Jo,
Yes, I am so glad that today ended well. My son is not used to riding such great distance at high speed, and he was quite stressed by the time that he reached my husband.
God never leaves us alone, for He is there through the difficult times as well as the times that things are going very well – all that we need to do is to call on His name and He is right there beside us.
The verse is one that I drew sterength from.
God bless you,
Love, Jillian ♥
How frightening for you Jillian. I have not had asthma (bronchitis yes but not asthma), and can only imagine the hardship of not being able to breath easily.
You son is a champ! What a blessing too, that your hubby didn’t get sidetracked, going off to other places. My husband often goes for little drives, on top of the place he originally sets off for.
Just a thought, but I once knew a woman whose daughter suffered asthma terribly. They removed all carpet from the home, as this seemed to inflame her condition. I noticed you have carpet. Have you ever thought of removing it? I suppose it helps keep your home warmer in those very cold winters you get in SA.
Bless you friend, and glad you are fine and well now.
That really is a scary esperience. Praise God for this outcome. Jillian, I have several chronic health problems but I have thanked God in the past that asthma is not one of them. Along with the terrifying attacks I am just not a great house keeper. Dust bunnies???? We have boomers!
Keep well. Also thankful God has given your hubby and children to be there in times like these.
I can’t imagine the fear and suffering of living with asthma. Yet, what a wonderful lesson your children are leaning in how to care for a house and most of all, in how to care for their mother!
I’d say you have a hero in your family. What a frightening event this must have been. I can just see your boy flying with the wind on his bike under such a great cause.
blessings,
tricia
Very glad you’re ok Jillian and that your son was able to go for help, praise God for looking after you and that your husband wasn’t any further away with the car!!!
Hi Amanda,
Asthma is like trying to breathe underwater – it feels like you’re drowning.
I’m so glad that my husband didn’t get sidetracked, too.
My parents removed all of the carpet, heavy curtains etc from our home when I was little, but it didn’t make any difference. My mum used to wash the net curtains in my room each week, too.
Thank you for your concern and empathy.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Hi Ruby,
Yes, I praise God for the outcome, too.
Have a wonderful week,
Blessings,
Jillian ♥
Hi Anne,
If you imagine drowning, that is what asthma feels like!
Our children are learning lots at the moment.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Hi Tricia,
Yes, he certainly is.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Hi Carolyn,
He is normally 11 kilometres away when he is cutting wood.
I’m so glad that my husband was no further away with the car, too.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Hi Jo,
I, too, am so glad that everything ended well.
I am just glad that it was my son that was home, and not my daughter, for she is a chronic asthmatic, too.
Have a wonderful week,
Love and blessings, Jillian ♥
Glad you’re okay and all ended well. Not a pleasant experience at all though :/
Hi Susan,
It takes about a week to get over a bad attack.
Thank you – I am still a little “under the weather”, and I think that’s why I found it so difficult when my blog crashed.
Love and blessings,
Jillian ♥