Christmas is Coming. Week Eleven.

Again apologies for the delayed posting of a new blog, but I guess as you all know by now, I was struck down last Saturday by a nasty bout of gastritis (or something similar), however this really got me thinking about why I was getting ill and about what God says in James 1:12, “Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” So this all started two weekends ago when I decided to stay up too late on Friday night and I had to be up early for a music practice for church on Sunday morning, so it wasn’t too sensible to exhaust myself. The plan for lunch was to go to a typical Indian restaurant, pretty much the Indian version of McDonalds with regard to speed of food delivery, the restaurant is called Sangeetha and I had a ‘meals’ lunch (rice, roti, poppadums and lots of pots of different ‘gravy’s’), interesting thing is, nobody else had what I had! So towards the evening I started to have crippling lower abdomen pain, but ignored it and tried to enjoy my evening, but with another late night I wasn’t taking it too seriously. So Sunday morning was church at 8.30am (well a practice anyway), the worship was amazing, God really blessed the worship time, however my abdomen was still ‘paining me’ as the Indians say. So I went through the day with the pains getting steadily worse, knowing that it was partly my own fault for not eating enough fresh fruit & vegetables and going to bed too late, basically not helping myself. So that evening the flu symptoms started to develop, I had the aching feeling, I had a headache, I was hot one minute, cold the next and I had a temperature of 38deg plus. So that night I had a really long shower, I spent some time worshipping God, then I really prayed into the situation, I’ve been reading The Purpose Driven Life and it says the sign of a mature Christian (not saying I am, but I’m trying) is when you thank God for testing you, putting you through difficult times. So I just thanked God for testing me in this way, I prayed that somehow through this illness that I’d learn something new of him and that overall I’d be changed to be more like him in some way. It’s amazing how being ill in a foreign country makes you more emotional, helps you to be thankful for all who love you and really give everything over to Jehovah Raphe the Lord who heals!


So all of Monday was spent resting at the flat, still with the pains, but we had a music practice for the Jingle Bell Rock concert on Friday, so after taking two Nurofen plus, I felt so much better! I got an early night in on Monday, after really enjoying a time of fellowship with the youth guys whilst practicing for our concert on Friday. So on Tuesday morning I still wasn’t better, so Becky phoned me to say Dani was taking me to see a doctor, as a precaution and to hopefully get some medicine to speed up the healing process. We rode there in an auto, I was feeling rough, and worried about being in an Indian hospital and praying it wasn’t anything serious. So the hospital was pretty cramped, fairly clean, certainly not a place I wanted to spend a huge amount of time. I was weighed by a nurse, they also took my blood pressure (which was normal) and sent me to wait next to an open door (all the doors were open, so germs flying about everywhere). Eventually the doctor saw me, she asked what was the problem, I lay down on the stretcher (40cm wide, metal, never been cleaned) I explained I’d taken some Nurofen and she absolutely nailed me for taking it, saying Nurofen was the reason I was unwell and consequently she diagnosed me with gastritis. I was really defensive as I’ve always taken Nurofen when unwell, she also stated I was ‘in the habit of taking Ibuprofen for a headache’ and overall I was pretty shaken up by what she said, basically because it wasn’t what they say at home. After picking up a prescription of Rabeprozole tablets, Digene gel and some paracetemol, I headed back to the flat with Dani, calling Mum on the way asking her to check with the Rohais surgery that it was ok to take what I was given and to find out if the diagnosis was correct. Eventually I found out that the Nurofen may have made my pains worse (doesn’t explain Saturday till Monday evening though) and that I was ok to take the antibiotics, which were in fact the correct ones for my problem.


So now a week later since seeing the doctor the pains have finally almost cleared up after drinking lots of water, eating lots of fresh fruit, taking my medicine and getting some early nights in! But it really was something I wouldn’t want to go through again and by God’s grace I have pulled through it, the whole time really thinking about how God has changed me through this test. I think I was the architect of my own downfall in a way, with the late nights doing what I’d do back in the West, living a student-like life of eating junk food and playing computer games and God was just saying, “Look Tom, you aren’t here to do what you want to do, but what I want you to do, there is nothing wrong with eating junk food and playing computer games, but do these in moderation, you haven’t!” I’m so thankful now for all the blessings God has put in my life, especially my family (mostly my mum, especially when unwell) and the fantastic healthcare in Guernsey that we take for granted all the time. I urge you this week to seek God in the difficult times, really allow him to work in your life through testing times and when the these times come praise him for allowing your life to be changed through these times.


Thank you all for your prayers and may you have a blessed week,


Tom xx