Our Plan B Weekend

Ryan and I had been looking forward to this past weekend for quite a while. We had registered to attend an overnight prayer retreat through our church. For the last two years, right around this time of year, we have attended a marriage retreat, but we decided this year, we sorely needed the prayer. We have so many decisions to make about our future, and we feel stuck at every turn. We craved the chance to get away, to be in a consecrated spot, and to have no distractions so we could pray. We even hoped someone might pray with or over us.

I was even convinced that part of the delay in my surgery {which initially annoyed me} was perhaps ordained so we could go to our retreat. We needed this more than I think we've needed anything in our entire marriage.

And then Ryan got sick. Ryan never gets sick. Like ever. In our married life, he's had exactly one cold, and it was super short lived and barely knocked him over. So when it started earlier this week, I anticipated another round of that.

And then came Friday. I went to work and I hit up the prayer warriors. My prayers didn't seem to be working, so I went to all my work friends and asked them to pray. I told them Ryan's illness reeked of Satan's schemes, and I was convinced he was trying to keep us away from the prayer retreat. Lynne and I closed the door to our office, and she prayed with conviction and authority for the sickness to leave Ryan's body.

And shortly after that, he texted and said he was not better. He was worse. He didn't ever remember being this sick before, and I believed it. I also knew it was time to get real. We were not going to that prayer retreat. I cried. I cried because we were out a decent amount of money. I cried because Ryan felt worse. I cried because I perceived Satan had won that round and it pushed an already defeated Bekah a little farther down.

Before coming home, Ryan went to a clinic and came home with a diagnosis of an upper respiratory infection and an armload of meds. He curled up on the couch and that was the extent of our Friday night. I sat beside him and tried to pray...tried to create an atmosphere of the prayer retreat in our home, but in truth, I was just mad. I cried angry, bitter tears while I prayed, and my words could have been classifed more as a bitter diatribe than anything else. And I'm pretty sure there's a good possibility they went nowhere. The words, I mean.

 I picked up a pizza, as we had no food in the house. We had planned to eat dinner at the retreat. Ryan sprayed his nasal spray and took his pills, and I sat and was angry.

That night we slept apart in the same house for the first time. I hadn't slept in two nights...waking at every sniffle. I slept for nine glorious hours {once I finally got to sleep...I cannot, for the life of me, fall asleep without Ryan beside me}. When I got up, I found Ryan upright on the couch, reading over our financial statement for 2014, watching TV, drinking a fresh cup of coffee and with a wealth of Googled information about his respiratory infection. He'd been awake since 5:30.

In an attempt to be a better wife than I felt I'd been the day before, I made Snickerdoodle waffles for breakfast and launched into some laundry and housework:

I ran some of our errands, and while I was out, I picked up a balloon and a coke for Mister Sickie. I love getting treats when I'm sick, so I figured it might brighten his day, too.

And then it was time for the next hard part of the weekend. ANOTHER plan we had was to celebrate Valentine's Day together. We'd bought tickets to attend a comedy show in Kokomo - that featured one of Ryan's really good friends from high school. We hated to lose the money on those tickets too, since we'd just thrown away the retreat money, so Ryan encouraged me to invite my friend Amber to go with me. She happened to be free...so that night, I got dressed up and drove to Amber's house to pick her up. And Ryan stayed home in his couch-nest to work on our taxes. {Because being sick is apparently not punishment enough.}

Amber is so much fun and we had a GREAT time together - and I'm so glad she was free to join me - but it felt so weird to be out without Ryan. I saw a few people I knew, and they all cast a strange look my way to see me out and about without my other half! I figured I was probably starting some unpleasant rumors for the two of us - so if you saw me, NOTHING IS WRONG! HE'S JUST REALLY SICK!!!!

I sent him a picture so he'd know I missed him.

The comedy show was HYSTERICAL. I laughed until I cried. I was really glad I went, even though my heart was sick that Ryan wasn't with me. Amber and I made a quick run to Starbucks {because of course} before I came home to check on my boy.

His balloon had been stolen.

I sat with him until he fell asleep, and then I sneaked off to bed. {It KILLS me to be so far from him, but with a surgery scheduled for tomorrow, I am not allowed to catch what he has. This did NOT help my quinoa for this weekend.} {Quinoa is our word for aura.}

We were scheduled to be greeters at church yesterday, but there was obviously no way he could go, so I got up and ready and went to church just to greet by myself. I missed him.

And apparently he missed me too.

But I tried to be a good wife again...because I left him a card!!

When I came home from church, I ran a couple of errands to get some last minute food we needed. {I'd planned to go Saturday night after the comedy routine, but it was 11 p.m. before I got home and I wasn't interested in being out unchaperoned that late.}

There's a reason why Ryan always goes to the store with me...he keeps me from losing my mind. :)

I got us some subs at Subway and came home...and we watched pictures coming in from our nephew's first birthday party, which we also missed. Heartbreaking!!

By Sunday evening, Ryan was breathing better and his cough had let up quite a bit, but he had a debilitating headache all day. That was hard to watch.

Pretty much by the end of Sunday, I was just ready to go to bed and forget the weekend ever happened. For a girl whose main love language is physical touch, almost a whole week of no kissing and minimal contact had really taken a toll. Add to that the disappointments of no prayer retreat, no Valentine's Day date, and no birthday party...and the wonder if my prayers were getting ANYWHERE past the ceiling...and the beginning of surgery nerves setting in...well...I'm sure thankful for the grace of God and Ryan.

As the night went on, he did perk up and said his headache had dulled significantly. When I saw him playing around with vacation ideas, I knew he was going to be okay. :) 

At this point, tomorrow is still scheduled to be surgery. I have to stay well and Ryan has to get well. No pressure, right?

{Note: I realize this might make it look like I've lost all sight of faith, and that's not true. I decided not to edit out my raw heart simply because faith isn't always easy. I don't always do it well, and I know that in my life, sometimes it's helpful to know that others struggle too. So today I decided to let you see my struggle. I do know and believe with all my heart that God does all things well, and a weekend of annoyance was not off His radar or out of His control. Thankful He understands my struggles and helps me do and be more than I think I can.}

The Shafferland Shuffle

* I managed to get up and out for church last Sunday; I was tired, but it was good to sit in church to hear the music and the sermon. We waited all day to see what would come of the projected foot or more of snow. In Marion, it ended up being more like an inch, but we did get some really pretty snow to watch for a while. Ryan and I were lazy all day. I've been instructed to rest, so I did my best.

* Monday was our 26 monthiversary, and we both had the day off work, because I had to meet with the doctor about my upcoming gallbladder eviction. We didn't know, going into the day, if it might even happen that day, but it did not, so we just made the best of the doctor's office date and had a great lunch out at McAlisters after we finished there. I'm sorry we got to be together because of sickness, but I'm in no way sorry we got to spend the day together!!

* Tuesday it was back to work for both of us, and the first day I felt human in several days. I even cooked dinner! I've been asked to be on a small committee at church, and we had our first meeting that night, which was much fun for me, and both Ryan and I helped out one of our friends transport a potter's wheel to and from a demonstration she was giving. I love Ryan's servant heart to help people in need like that. And we got a HUGE faith-boost from helping! Unfortunately, Ryan, who NEVER gets sick, started coming down with a sore throat...I think he was jealous that I was cornering the sick market on my own. :)

* Y'all don't know how much fear I've been living in as Ryan's cold went from cold-ish to WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH THIS MAN...I cannot get this cold. I can't have surgery if I'm sick! So I've been taking so many immunity boosters trying to stay well!! The forecast for Wednesday afternoon was dismal at best, so I ended up leaving work at noon to work from home for the rest of the day. Fireplace? Laptop? Books? Yes please! And Braeya was excited because I had a snack with milk, so she got the leftovers. Was so glad, later in the day, when the weather got ever so nasty, that I'd come home.

* Thursday was a BUSY BUSY day for me. I am working SO hard to get everything all set for Miss Lynne, so when I'm gone, she won't have to work any harder than necessary. Of course, I didn't think I was going to GET to work that day, because when I got into Fort Wayne, I drove on the slickest road to date this year. Passed five accidents/slide-offs and almost became the sixth. I was SCARED TO DEATH when I got to work. I was really excited to be there safely, though, because I taped an interview with Katie Farrell from Dashing Dish. I was beside myself with joy! After work, I came home to tend to my poor, sick husband who was, by this point, flat out miserable.

* Friday was supposed to be a really big day for us. Weeks ago, we registered to attend our church's overnight prayer retreat, and we had been SO looking forward to it. We desperately needed that time away focused on prayer. I took the afternoon off work to run errands and pack...and then Ryan texted me at work. He felt even worse, and there was no way we could go. We were devastated. {I possibly cried.} I still took the afternoon off and made my way back to the hospital where I got my ultrasound to pick up a CD of it to take to my surgeon. Ryan went to a clinic, where he was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. He came home with his armload of meds and collapsed on the couch. I unpacked our bags and we settled in to try to pray from home.

* Woke up Saturday morning after nine GLORIOUS hours of sleep. Ryan {who had to sleep sitting up on Mo} had been up since 5:30 and was clearly feeling better in mind, if not better in body. He had been googling his infection and reading blogs and watching TV. I made him snickerdoodle waffles for breakfast. I ran some errands during the day, including picking up a cheery balloon and a coke for my handsome Mister Sickie. In addition to buying tickets to the prayer retreat that we had to forfeit, we'd also purchased tickets to a comedy night for last night. We hated to lose that purchase too, so I left Ryan at home and invited my friend Amber to join me for comedy night. It was HILARIOUS, and it was so fun to hang out with her - but it was so weird to be out without Ryan! Here's hoping we can find a new adventure for Valentine's Day.

The Saturday Six

One.

Anyone else ever accidentally reheat buttered breadsticks on a pan with holes? Yeah. It's time to clean the oven. That's your cleaning and organizing challenge for this week! Have an oven or microwave that needs a little spiffing? This is your week!!

Two.

Last Monday, when we were trying {somewhat in vain} to get quick answers from medical and insurance offices, I happened upon this devo by Scotty Smith. It was another faith-boosting moment for me. In the face of people who didn't answer their phones {half the calls} and those who had no clue of an answer {the other half of the calls}, it was good to be reminded that all of it was in God's timing and He's never late. EVER. 

Three.

Source

Like to read? My friend (yes, my real life friend!!) Sarah Forgrave has a free e-book (short story length) out called Running to You with a Valentine's Day theme to it! You can go here to learn how to get it!

Four.

This week on BLT, we talked about times in life when we THOUGHT we looked good and then upon later reflection, we changed our minds. Above is one of my favorites. Yeah. That's me. It was when I first really discovered blush. And scissors.

Five.

Source

For when you feel like you can't start because you're not ready...Shauna Niequist's truth that you're never really ready, but that shouldn't keep you from starting.

Six.

Source

Best. Thing. Ever. Check out this article. This would completely be a Bekah thing to do. Bravo, Mr. Irby. Bravo.

Listening to Nudges

Yesterday I let you take a peek into the land of my past, and I shared a bit about another person who impacted me by doing something so little, but to me it was so big.

And this week, Ryan and I had a chance to be that for someone else. I wanted to tell you about it, not because of any good we did, but because it boosted our faith to hear from the other side how God used a tiny yes from us to be a GIANT yes to someone else.

I was scrolling through Facebook late in the afternoon - just to see if I'd missed anything earth-shattering. I caught a little glimpse of a note from a friend who asked if anyone in the general vicinity would have a vehicle large enough to help her transport a potter's wheel to the public library, where she needed to give a demonstration.

I almost scrolled right past it, but then I remembered. I remembered the days when I was single, and I had the occasional need to transport something that didn't fit in my itty bitty car. I hated asking for help and rarely did so, but every now and then I would get brave enough to dare to ask...and I would sit in a near-panic while I waited to see if anyone would be nice enough to say yes.

It just so happened that I have a husband who owns a pickup truck and muscles. I sent him a quick text and asked if he would have a few minutes to help her transport the wheel after work. I wasn't sure he'd see the text in time, but I thought I'd try. And much to my surprise, he answered immediately. And he said yes. {That part wasn't a surprise.}

So after work, he met my friend at her house, loaded up the heavy potter's wheel, and drove it to the library. And a couple hours later, after we had dinner, we did the whole favor in reverse. It was no big deal with us. It took a few minutes put about two miles on the car. We were happy to help.

It was only when we got back to her house and delivered the wheel back to its resting place, that she shared the fuller story.

She had planned to paint a picture at the demonstration that night. It was all arranged in her mind. But when she awakened that day, she heard the familiar urge of the Holy Spirit. It wasn't picture painting day. He wanted her to do pottery.

Being a person much like me, she argued with Him. She said she didn't have time to prepare new thoughts, to gather the supplies, and most of all...how would she get that potter's wheel downtown? She couldn't carry it alone. Her car wasn't big enough. It wouldn't work.

But the nudge continued.

And so did the arguing.

And finally, she offered the compromise. If He would work out the details, she would do pottery. And so it was, that afternoon, she put the request on Facebook. A fleece of sorts. If He provided, she would do the plan B art project.

What I saw as a quick request that we could answer with no problem...what I saw as a chance to offer a quick blessing to a person in need...was so much more.

This was a moment in which God was proving to His daughter that He could provide her needs to honor His direction. And Ryan and I got to be part of it.

Do you even know how much my heart soared in hearing that? God is always up to so much more than we know. Wonder how many times a day we are chosen to be part of it? And I wonder how many times we say yes?

Small World, Big Influence: Faith

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh how I used to loathe Valentine's Day. LOATHE.

When I worked at IWU, it was impossible to avoid the day-o-love. Students paired off as though they were headed for the ark. The entire Student Center smelled like a florist. {I believe my terminology of choice in the day was "reeked of flowers."} Girls merrily lugged massive bouquets and floated along behind balloons...and then there were the rest of us.

The ones who winced every time the lost-looking delivery guy showed up in the office corridors, clutching flowers while searching out the right office suite. The ones who sat at the front desk and greeted said delivery guy with fake smiles and a "Can I help you find someone?"

One year, our student worker Jenna {who was also single at the time} and I made a pact to wear black from head to toe on Valentine's Day in protest of the flowers, chocolates, and balloons that had taken up residence in our building.

We were cute, I think.

That also happened to be the day I met with a representative from a church directory company about our church's upcoming photo session. I was in charge of being the liaison between the company and the church, and this was my first big impression. On Valentine's Day. In all black.

I explained to the kind lady why I was decked out in mourning, and she laughed with me. She said I would get along very well with her own daughter, who also wasn't fond of the day. I wasn't quite as bitter as I looked, but it was a hard day, to be honest.

Right before the end of the work day, I looked up from my desk to find my friend Faith standing in the doorway, holding a box in her hand. It had fruit roll ups with Disney princesses on the packages. My nickname in college was Princess, and my college friends liked to remind me of that with little princess-y items now and then.

Faith came in and said she knew I probably didn't like the day, but she wanted to make sure I got something from someone, and when she saw the fruit roll-ups in the store, she couldn't pass them up. I smiled because it was just like Faith to remember me on a holiday like that. A couple of years before, she'd brought me a card on Valentine's Day. That year's day of love had been particularly hard, because I'd just broken up with my college boyfriend, and she had said it was important to her that I received something, even if it wasn't from a guy.

She was in a relationship and it would have been easy for her to forget that not everyone had a significant other to share fun days with. She could have been busy planning her own festivities, but she took time to remember me.

And I appreciated that so much.

Faith inspired me to spend several years finding unique ways to reach out on Valentine's Day. To let my single friends know they were special. To stop wearing black and eating Blizzards on the couch...and start finding ways to show love to others.

I think it's pretty appropriate that this story was up next for this little series, because...you know...Valentine's Day is next week. Might be time for all of us to think of people who need some love and reach out to them on a day when they might feel forgotten! 

God-Prints

Last week, during Share, I had the opportunity to call a listener and pray with her over the phone. She was going through a rough time, and one thing I specifically prayed was that God would provide for her immediate needs and that she would recognize each provision as coming from His hand, not just as a coincidence. I hope she has...and I know I have seen it in my own life these last couple of weeks. Sometimes I think it does a soul good just to hear when God's been moving, so I wanted to share this with you, both as a way to praise God for what He has done and also {hopefully} to encourage your walk!

Before I launch in, you should know that back in 2000, right after I graduated from college, I went through a significant bout of pain. Two trips to two emergency rooms...a visit to the doctor...and one wishy-washy diagnosis of a possible ulcer later, I was sent away with a prescription for Prevacid and an admonition to give up Mountain Dew, lemonade, and anything else particularly acidic. I haven't really had a big issue with the pain again {random bouts of it, but nothing major or long-lasting} until 2 weeks ago. It hit me at 8:15 on Thursday morning, right in the middle of an Egg McMuffin. {Which, for the record, I never eat, but I got a free one that day. Also for the record, I regularly eat things much worse than that.} Within minutes, the pain was so severe that I couldn't stand up straight, talk well, or breathe with ease. Lynne immediately sent me home, thus bringing about my first ever time to miss BLT.

And here begins the record of the God-prints.

* My friend Marie was home that day and she kept me company on the phone while I commuted home - a trip that took probably an hour and a half. I was in so much pain, I was hunched over the steering wheel, and my hands and lips had gone numb from the pain. She prayed aloud constantly and read Scripture to me as I drove. Any other given day, she probably would have been busy or gone at that hour, but that day she was home with time to spare and she prayed me home.

* Ryan, whose schedule is always full WEEKS in advance, happened to have a slow day that day and was able to leave work at noon. This is quite literally NEVER an option for him. EVER. Not only that, but he had a student doing a clinical rotation with him, and that meant even more than usual, he shouldn't have been able to leave work, but God had that all worked out.

* Lynne called me after the show and told me she did not want to see me again until I'd been checked out, which IS the only reason I got immediate testing. It wasn't like I could skip going back to work for the rest of eternity.

* Ryan took me to an emergency room out of town {at my request} and I was pretty nervous about heading in during the height of flu season. But we walked in the door and were taken back immediately and were out in less than an hour. Pretty sure that never happens this time of year. I had absolutely no contact with any other patients. Every person I saw in that ER was ridiculously nice. No one weighed me {you girls understand that this fact in and of itself is a praise}, the person who took my blood got the vein in one try and did not leave a bruise, and they were all careful to not order tests that might be costly if I could wait to get them at a better rate later. AND the ER called me the next day to ask after my health. Nice.

* We had no plans at all that weekend - other than Ryan's plan to work on Saturday, which meant I could rest. And one of his co-workers called and offered to sub for him on Saturday so he could stay home with me. That meant EVERYTHING to me. He has the best co-workers. Other than mine. Mine really are the best of the best.

* Monday was the start of Share week, and that is the kind of week that you just DO NOT MISS at work. Period. And we were already down one employee, since Lynne's dad died over the weekend. I was so nervous about being sick and ruining Share. But Ross, our director, literally met me at the door on Monday, looked me straight in the eye, and said "You do what YOU have to do this week to be okay. You get whatever tests you need whenever you need them and you don't worry about us. Do you understand?" Wow.

* One of the big issues with this whole thing is that I live in one town and have insurance in another town. Oh. And I don't have a doctor. So, although the diagnosis at the ER was again that I had an ulcer, thy did urge me to find a doctor, get an order for an ultrasound, and have my gallbladder checked just to be sure. That was a daunting task. I knew many doctors in Fort Wayne weren't even taking new patients. Fortunately, Ryan works at a hospital {in yet ANOTHER town} and a doctor there was willing to take pity on a poor sick wife and help her get an ultrasound ordered. I got that on Monday.

* At FOUR O'CLOCK on Monday afternoon, I blindly called an office in Fort Wayne to ask about an ultrasound. They were booked for weeks out, but the nice lady gave me another number to try. I called at 4:15 and they could get me in at 7:30 in the morning THE NEXT DAY. That meant I didn't have to fast all day, I could get the test out of the way before work, and I was only late by a half hour. The ultrasound was completely painless, too, which was a bonus. AND - one more thing. It was one of the few days that week when weather was not an issue in the morning. I was able to drive up the interstate with no snow or ice.

* My co-workers urged me to be as careful as I could all week. We had long hours and a lousy diet {for someone with issues like mine. The food was VERY good...but it was pizza...and Mexican...and all kinds of stuff I Probably shouldn't have} and all week long, they asked and asked how I was doing. I did great all week until Friday.

* Friday morning at 9:00, another attack of pain began. I asked for time to sit in my office and breathe. My parents were praying, Ryan was praying, and I asked my co-worker, Amy, to come back and pray over me in person. She came back at 9:45, and I was sweatin' it. I was supposed to be on air at 10:00 and the pain was so bad, I couldn't speak above a whisper. I leaned against the wall in my office while she prayed aloud for my relief. She specifically prayed that all pain would vanish when I opened my mouth to speak on the air. She got done and I looked at her and said, "That's 15 minutes away. Seriously? You couldn't pray for faster than that?" LOL!! We were joking, but you guys? I hobbled down to the studio at 10, sat in the chair with my pants unbuttoned, because the pain was too much, and the minute I opened my mouth to speak, it left. For. The. Day.

* Ryan texted me Friday afternoon and said the doctor had told him he never got the results from the hospital. They were supposed to be to him within 24 hours. I called and got right through {again, at 4 pm on a Friday} and they got them sent right over. That's when we learned my gallbladder was full of stones and needed to be removed immediately. The doctor was so upset that the results were delayed in getting to him. He said he would have had me in the hospital that week to have surgery. I told Ryan that I was firmly convinced that delay was God-ordained. I do not, for one minute, believe I had any kind of life-altering impact on the outcome of Share 2015, but I do believe, with all my heart, that in Lynne's absence, I was needed in that station. I can't be Lynne and I wasn't trying to be Lynne. But I needed to help. They needed me and I needed that time of faith-boosting. I didn't need surgery as much as I needed to be there.

* We weren't able to make any headway on this over the weekend, but when we started the process up Monday morning, we learned that the hospital Ryan wanted me to be in actually was covered in our insurance {we didn't think it would be}, so we're able to get in there for the surgery!

* The first "hiccup" was in the date - which is a week from yesterday. It was much farther out than I wanted, but I am choosing to believe it's right for reasons I don't know! It did allow me to return to work and get things done ahead for Lynne. I'd felt so horrible for leaving her with so much to do.

Excited to see what God does now!

26 Months: In Sickness and...Well...Just Sickness

Yesterday was our 26 monthiversary. It was also the day I met with the doctor about getting scheduled for the old gallbladder eviction.

I was kind of grateful for this appointment on this day, because the route to work wasn't going to be pretty, between our icy roads and Fort Wayne's snowy roads, so the chance to sleep in an hour or so and be chauffeured around wasn't so awful.

We got up and got ready, and at 8:01 on the dot, Ryan was on the phone with all the offices that had been closed over the weekend, trying to get some answers on where we could have this surgery done. {Living in a town an hour from your work has disadvantages across the board, we've learned.} He's so good at this kind of thing, because he has experience in the health care field.

We learned that apparently the weather prevented some of the fine office folk from being in on time themselves, so we still didn't have answers by the time we needed to leave to meet with the doctor.

And before we left...I insisted that we take our monthiversary picture, just in case I ended up in the hospital. This is a much better background:

 And then...we had to go. 

I only had a small meltdown on the way to the doctor. Just a small one. I wasn't prepared to have the surgery the same day, and I figured something like that would be likely to happen to me, so I was trying to mentally prepare. {This was probably NOT helped by the fact that I spent all day Sunday trying to complete our scrapbooks so if the surgery went wrong, at least Ryan wouldn't forget our anniversary and the month of January. This is my version of getting my affairs in order.}

When we got to the doctor's office, Ryan hopped right up on the table...

Oh wait. He's not the patient! I am!!! HELP ME!!!!

A little pre-consult fun:

The doctor came in and talked to us about all the good stuff. He asked about the foods I ate, and I fessed up to all the pizza and Culver's burgers. He asked if I'd lost weight in the last several years, and I told him about five years ago. He pondered whether or not that could have been related to the gallbladder. I told him I was pretty sure it was because of love life drama. {Poor doctor. He had no idea what he was getting into with me.} He asked if I was pregnant. Uhhhhh no.

He left to order the surgery, and Ryan took back over again:

My thoughts:

In the end, we found out I can't have the surgery until NEXT Tuesday, which is not quite what we hoped for, but Ryan reminded me of the devo I read him that morning about God's timing being perfect. {I read this devo to him when he was frustrated with the NON timely responses of the insurance offices. I did not anticipate having it so quickly turned around on me. HA!!!}

So we're trusting that this is the right day for the surgery, and if I end up in bad shape prior to that, I am to report to the hospital pronto for emergency surgery.

We went out for a monthiversary lunch at McAlisters:

 And then we came home and took a nap. I was exhausted from all the drama!! We took it easy the rest of the day, as is the order from now until post-op, and I'm thankful that in the middle of all the mess, I got to spend my monthiversary with my man. Thankful for his constant entertainment, for his prayers, and for his love.

Here's to a healthier month, Baby!!!

Wrapping Up Share

* I feel kind of like I've turned into a prayer request machine lately, so I'm sorry...and not sorry. If you're up for praying for me again, well...I'm not sure how to ask you to pray! My gallbladder needs to come out on the double, and it might happen today...or it might not. Either way, we're working with doctors toward that and while I feel peaceful, I would love your prayers for direction and clarity as we try to make this thing happen quickly.

* Today is also another monthiversary in the land of Shaffer, and I am SO GRATEFUL for a husband who is taking the "in sickness" vows like a champ and has made this whole journey as painless for me as possible. My part of the pain is to manage the ACTUAL pain and he's managing the paperwork pain. To be honest, I'm not sure which is the worst. Thanks, Baby, for being the husband of my dreams every day, and most especially in this kind of thing that I never really bothered to dream about. {Who would???}

AND NOW - back to the original purpose of this post, which is to report on the end of Share 2015 at work. Friday is always the longest day of Share, because it's the only day when the whole staff has to work the entire shift: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. or whenever they shut down the phones. I was so tired from a long week...made longer because it was a Lynne-less week AND because of my sketchy health. Ryan wanted me to rest as much as possible, so that darling man got up at 3:45 in the morning on Friday, and he DROVE ME all the way to Fort Wayne, so I could rest and not have to worry with an hour of driving at 4:30 in the morning. He then drove all the way back to Kokomo {almost a 2 hour drive} and worked a full day...and then drove back to Fort Wayne to get me. I LOVE THIS MAN!!!!!!!

Friday morning, I was in a video for work {my third that week, actually...apparently I'm a part time TV reporter and didn't even know!} and it was fun. I got to interview Silas the Super Dog!

Apparently in the making of this video, THIS particular choice of poses messed with my stomach, because immediately after doing this, I was in some significant pain again. I ended up in my office for an hour, just breathing through the pain, and after some serious prayers, I was able to be well in the nick of time to be back on the air.

We had a great day - so blessed by all the people who joined us to help make another year of radio possible!

And look who volunteered in the phone room!!! My friend Elisa!

Ryan came back to get me, but he got a little sidetracked {forever} talking to my co-worker Cindy's husband!

{Not sure what they were plotting, but I have a feeling Cindy and I are in trouble.}




After this, he told me about the great next health debacle of 2015...my stone-filled gallbladder. BOO. Apparently I handled the news much better than he anticipated. Maybe that's the advantage of being worn out from a week of Share!


We stayed for the final on-air wrap-up. We are just a couple hundred thousand away from our goal, which is really good!

 A tradition at the station is having any new employees share on-air about their first week of Share. This time it was our new IT guys, Dan. He did a great job keeping us up and running!

I closed up my desk - for who knows how many days - and said goodbye!

Thanks for taking this journey with me the last few days!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday, we got home from church just as the first flakes of the "clipper" {??} weather system moved in. We cuddled up on Mo, with a fresh butterbraid to snack on throughout the day, and watched a lot of TV. Nothing I love more than being home with nowhere to go when the weather outside is frightful! Plus it gave me another day to rest before a busy week at work.

 * Monday was Cyber Monday at work, and I got a chance to share the Mid-Morning hour with Ken Church. It was a good day - a chance to meet some listeners who came to the station, and a chance to catch up on things that I'd been behind on during my days off work. Good first day back at work - and good first day back in the land of the living!

* Tuesday morning, I got up bright and early to be at the hospital for the ultrasound on my gallbladder - which went really well. Thankful for a good day of travel weather for that! After the test...off to work for Share, Day 1! it was a long, but good day, with opportunities to hear encouraging stories from our listeners. I got home about 8:30 and collapsed on the couch next to Ryan to watch Fixer Upper! And for the first time in our married lives, I think I fell asleep FIRST!

 * Wednesday was another day of changes in the life of Bekah and Share! Normally Lynne is on the air quite a bit during our fundraising week, but since she missed the whole week due to her dad's death, they gave me the opportunity to have a couple of extra air shifts. I spent all my down time preparing for that! I was also so excited to see Silas the Super Dog back to take more pledges. He comes {with his owner, or course} every year, and he's so much fun.

 * Thursday...you guessed it! More Share! I was busy all week bouncing back and forth between the phone room...the studio...prepping to be on air...trying to do my regular job...and randomly participating in videos for the station. Other duties as assigned, baby!! And speaking of baby...also got to meet our co-worker Dana's new baby for the first time. What a darling little peanut! And that night, I didn't get to see Ryan until really late because he went to his sister's house to install her dishwasher. Apparently when she bought the house, the previous owner bought the thing and stuck it in a hole in the kitchen - so he had to start from scratch plumbing the whole thing!! Busy day for the Shaffers!!

* Friday was the last day of Share, and it was a long one! I had to be in Fort Wayne at 6 am, so my amazing husband got up at 3:45 in the morning to drive me to work, dropped me off at 6, drove all the way to Kokomo {almost 2 hours away} to work all day, and then he came back that night to get me. I don't deserve him. When he arrived that night, he came with the news we'd been waiting for: my diagnosis. I have a gallbladder completely full of stones, and it has to come out right away. More on this next week, but now you know! :)

* Saturday was supposed to be a county tour day for us, but the news about the gallbladder transformed it into prep-for-surgery-to-come day instead. We slept in super late {actually fell asleep on Mo Friday night, got up at 5 a.m, went to bed, and got up at 10:30! HA!!We took it easy at home all day - venturing forth only for Starbucks and grocery shopping {with the rest of the county, since we're supposed to get slammed with snow}. I look worse than I feel. I forgot to put on eyeliner, and I always look sick without it. BOO. When we got home, Ryan started typing, which is REALLY weird, and when I asked what he was doing, he said he was writing a guest blog post for the day of my surgery. I have never loved the man more than I do in this moment.