Sunday, November 11, 2007

Trouble enough for today :D

Today's issue: Nathan's continuing to hallucinate. More on that below.

But first, part of the passage I happened to read to Nathan this evening:

"...Don't worry about everyday life... Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.
So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." (Matthew 6:25, 32-34, New Living Translation)

Jesus' concluding his thoughts on why God's care for us should liberate us from worry by joking about our having "enough trouble for today" almost made me laugh out loud.

I have been worrying about how the next month or two will pan out. (It has become apparent that Nathan will be hospitalized at least until the end of the month.) Even Nathan himself has asked about how the hospital bill will be paid? He must have inherited his father's anxiety. :( We assured Nathan that insurance will pay the bill. (And that is to say nothing of the ways family and friends, in Manila, in Portland...and even the University of Portland center here in Salzburg, have been generously providing for us. I can and will (in a future blog) make a long list of the ways in which the Lord has cared for Nathan, and Hannah and me, and Stacey.)

But the fact is that, while the police investigator is doing a thorough job, we have had to engage an Austrian attorney to see to it that the driver's insurance coverage pays the bills. And getting our family together for Christmas is no simple matter when we are on three continents, and Salzburg is not home.

But those are all tomorrow's worries. And Jesus pointedly asks: "Cannot God be trusted to take care of such things? You've got your hands full with today's issues. (Today's issue: Nathan's continuing to hallucinate, on-and-off. He insists, by the way, he is not alone in that. He told Hannah: "We're all hallucinating...including you." And when I insisted that there is no dog threatening him, he was indignant: "Dad, don't tell me that. We all know full well that there's a dog there. Just because you're not afraid." :D

We left Nathan sleeping very peacefully. That was just wonderful. And I'll work on the legal and insurance issues tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll chuckle at Jesus' light-hearted analysis of our having had just "enough trouble" for today... and enjoy a light-hearted night's sleep.

5 comments:

Sarah B said...

I do hope you got that good night of sleep! I'm so glad God is giving you His perspective as you study His word. He will take care of the details. And I look forward to hearing those stories. They will probably stun us all....and yet He has promised them all along. Keep sharing. We'll keep praying

Annabelle Stone said...

I've been praying for your Christmas a couple of days ago, and asked God that you will all be together in the U.S. Thank you for sharing what you are going through. God bless...

Peace...

Annabelle

Dan Johanson said...

Greg and Hannah -- thanks so much for doing this blog. I've been checking in frequently for the update and continue to join you in prayer. Do let me know if I can help in any way.

Kim Sison said...

Hi Greg. Am here now in Singapore with Jun Espiritu, attending the Intentional Disciplemaking Church Process. Thank you for sharing with us everything the LORD is revealing to you since the start of this accident. Through your blog, we are filled up with the fullness of our Lord's faithfulness to you.

Anonymous said...

That was an enlightening comment from Nathan about fears and hallucinations! I'm glad he's coming around bit by bit.