Blood work

I went to the doctor's office yesterday for my yearly checkup. And I had the dreaded "blood work" done. All my life I have avoided this. Yes, I'm an adult. And yes, I go to the doctor every year. But somehow I managed to evade having my blood sucked out of me every single time.

There were two things I was thinking when I went to the doctor's yesterday. The first was, will I be alright? I can't say the word "blood" without feeling weak in the knees. The second was, maybe I have a tough streak in me that will suddenly come to life! You know all those stories where the main character is a wimp, but when they have to do something very hard, they suddenly rise to the challenge and become heroes? I always hoped I was one of those characters.

So I sat down and the needle went in, and I just closed my eyes and thought, "Is that all? Easy!" Then I realized I could feel the blood leaving my hand and streaming up to the needle in my arm. That made me shake and tremble. It didn't hurt, but it forced me to think about blood and I hated it. But soon, that was over to.

I stood up, happy to have it over and noticed that my vision was a little black. I must have stood up too fast, so I sucked in my stomach, because that would help keep the blood from rushing to my head too fast. But my vision only got worse, and everything sounded weird. The nurse made me sit down again and handed me water, and all the while I was resolved that I would not faint. I broke into a cold sweat all over, but I succeeded in staying conscious.

I left the office feeling slightly disappointed with myself for not becoming a hero. As if not feeling effected by having bloods drawn would have made me hero....

How do you react to getting blood drawn?

Baklava

I made Baklava. It was surprisingly easy. Mine came out a little messy, since the photo above is of my best one. But it tasted like Baklava, which in case you didn't know, tastes a little like honey.

The recipe I found is here. I would highly recommended serving it with unsweetened tea or black coffee, since the Baklava itself is so sweet.

Prayer

"...The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry."(Psalm 18:5-7, ESV, emphasis mine) 

San Andreas Fault

As Christians, I think we feel our prayers go like this, sometimes:
Us: "God, there's this problem, and I could really use some help."
God: "Oh, ok. I'll look into it."

Sometimes prayer feels like this:
Us: "God, there's this problem, and I could really use some help."
No answer.

But this is not what we see in Psalm 18. There are three points to look at in this passage, which I highlighted above.

First of all, David, the writer of the Psalm, is desperate. He was being pursued by King Saul who wanted to kill him, because David was to be the next king. When David writes, "The snares of death confronted me," it is no exaggeration. Sometimes, we can feel really desperate, too. Maybe someone we love is sick. Maybe we don't have a job. Maybe that college we wanted to go to was too expensive. Maybe our friend just died. It could be anything - big or small - that causes us grieve or pain or despair.

Secondly, David writes, "My cry to him reached his ears." Does it feel like there is no answer? God really does hear us when we pray, even if it feels like there is a delay in His answer. And His timing is always perfect.

Lastly, we are given an extremely vivid picture, "The earth rocked and reeled; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked..." Try to picture that. Can you see the earthquake? Can you see giant mountains shaking? And do you know why? It was "because he was angry." God was angry! His response to David's prayer was anger?

He is angry when His children - those for whom Christ died - are feeling pain. He is angry at the enemy that causes this pain, whether that enemy be sin, Satan, or the consequences of a fallen world (such as death and disease). He did not answer with a shrug of the shoulders and half-hearted help. He answered  as a Father caring for his own. He answered as a warrior and declared war on the enemy.

You see, He loves you that much. And in the end, you can say with David, "For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name. Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed...." (Psalm 18:49-50, ESV)

The Spider that ruled the hall

In a quiet house, all quivered with fear

For there was a horror dwelling near.

It shifted around from wall to wall;

It was the Spider that ruled the hall.

Eight legs scratched the wall in a hurry,

Propelling it past in a flurry.

Passersby would stop and start staring,

“Didn't the Spider sit over there?”

All feared it greatly though none knew why,

All wished the Spider would leave or die,

Yet no one touched it – no one at all,

So it lived on and haunted the hall.

One day the Spider simply vanished,

But the minds of all remained blemished,

For still all tiptoe through the wide hall,

Fearing the Spider once on the wall.

(c) copyright - curious cognitive content - June 6, 2013