Blessings from the Stomach Flu

Cheyanna got the stomach flu on Thursday night.  She had a stomach ache, so when we tucked her in bed, we put a bowl next to her just in case.  Well, once she started getting sick, she jumped up and ran into our room, and very little of the mess made it into the bowl--it was all over the carpet leading from her room into our room.  Sorry for the visual, but I'm just trying to tell you that it was a mess.  We ended up with vomit in her bed, all over the carpet, and in our bed.  ANYWAY, as I was cleaning up the mess late at night, I felt so thankful that it happened just after I finished up my semester of school.  So I didn't have to worry about getting up and going to class, or having to miss class to stay home with Cheyanna.  And what a blessing it was that it didn't happen a few hours earlier.  Thurs was a super busy day for us, with Cheyanna's piano recital, Carson's violin concert, and Charlie's basketball practice (luckily Cade's baseball practice that night got canceled).  So the fact that we made it through the busy day before her sickness hit was ideal, really. And then I started thinking that we haven't had the stomach bug at our house in a long time--that's a blessing too.  And then I started thinking about how blessed we are that no one got sick on our cruise (besides my little bout of seasickness on one excursion!)  When we got home, Chuck got really sick with bronchitis, and he had to miss a couple of days of work.  But while we were on vacation, everyone was healthy, and we had no problems traveling.  All blessings.  Then yesterday was another busy day: one of my friends from school got baptized, Charlie played in a basketball tournament in Avondale, Cade had a baseball game, and then we had Chuck's work's Christmas party.  Late last night (early this morning), the stomach bug hit me too.  And again, I thought that the timing was a blessing.  We were able to get everything done that we needed to yesterday, and if I had to be sick, I couldn't have picked a better time.  I kind of feel that I have been running around non-stop since we got home from the cruise.  I've been trying to finish up all my school work, then trying to get out all my Christmas decorations, get the Christmas cards mailed out, get the house cleaned up, etc.  I've been thinking that I need a day off to rest and recharge, but there are too many things to do.  Being sick will force me to lay low and take it easy--which I think was just what I needed.  Thinking about being sick, I just realize how much the Lord is aware of our lives, and sometimes the timing of our trials (and the trials themselves) can be blessings.  I'm so thankful for a loving Father who loves me, and always knows what is best for me.