Death in the Bathroom

         I had a toothbrush casualty. I began putting my toothbrush in a ziplock bag every night after I heard my friend's story about finding a cockroach dancing and dangling on the end of her toothbrush. The last month or so I decided my toothbrush would be safe in a drawer without a bag. I didn't like using the bag because the toothbrush didn't seem to dry all the way. That was a bad idea. A few evenings ago I sleepily opened my drawer and reached for my trusty toothbrush.  My heart skipped a few beats as I saw those beady cockroach eyes peering back at me. The cockroach was perched right atop my toothbrush.  I kind of shrieked and Meagan said, "You okay in there?!" Needless to say, I opened a new toothbrush and went back to the bag! The toothbrush didn't go down alone though, it took the cockroach to glory with it-well maybe not the glory part.

A Beautiful Love

          God's grace washes over me as a pounding rain, drenching me to the bone. His grace is like glistening cold water saturating my parched soul. Hope, joy, peace, and true life rush through my veins and cause my heart to burst in awe. May I fall on my face before the throne of my Precious Savior in sincere adoration and devotion. When snares grasp at my heart, fling themselves in my path, hide in the shadows, cleverly disguise themselves as pleasures, and battle to allure me from His presence, even still He pursues my heart. When I fall, turn, abandon, and dishonor His name, even still He pursues me.
          Oh the depth and height and width of my Father's love for me. His compassionate eyes beckon me to find rest in His presence. His Word powerfully transforms my life. My deepest desire is to know Him, to live for Him, to be forever with Him. I am my Savior's and He is mine. My heart cannot comprehend the beautiful relationship He has created with me. How incredible that the Almighty, Holy God chooses to love me, to make a way for me to have a never ending relationship with Him. Oh what a beautiful Savior. Oh what a beautiful love.

                                         Every Little Detail
    God’s grace amazes me. Today began in the normal fashion, the alarm clock jerking me from a heavenly sleep into the waiting morning. I prepared for school, made my cup of happy bliss-coffee, and made my way through the maze of school bags to my seat on the school van. At 8:40 a.m. my students spilled through the door and took their seats, full of energy and life. The day sped by in the blink of an eye. I fought to master every moment and pack as much learning into the day as possible. About 3/4 or the way through the day, everything changed.
    I wanted to take my kids to the field and teach our science lesson under the giant physical education parachute. The students tried their best to follow instructions. The parachute soared up in the air and came swooshing down as the boys and girls rushed to get inside and sit on the edges. Our goal was to create a little canopy of sorts and talk about the atmosphere in this sheltered tent. Let’s just say we eventually had to admit defeat. The parachute was just too big and the kids could not hear me as I tried to teach. After several failed attempts we headed back to the classroom.
    I made my way to the front of the room and looked into the sea of faces. That is when it happened. I knew right away that I was about to enter a few hours of great challenges. My students looked like fuzzy blobs with smiley faces. This is the view I always get as a migraine takes over. I suppose the bright sunlight during our parachute excursion triggered the migraine. I quickly took my medicine and said several silent prayers. It must have been an interesting science lesson because I could not see my book very well and I was relying mostly on memory.
    Even in the midst of a painful and annoying migraine, God showered me in blessings. Today was PE day, so my kids left for half an hour after the science lesson. I had this time to try to gather my thoughts and recollect myself. When they returned from PE we only had 20 minutes left in the day. I explained to my kids that I was going to try very hard not to be grumpy, but that I was feeling very sick. I asked them to please be on their best behavior for the rest of the day. They are the sweetest kids in the world.
    As I walked them downstairs to the courtyard for dismissal my fingers and face started going numb, another side effect of a migraine. I was quite a mess really, bad vision, numb limbs, foggy mind. I managed to smile and answer questions as I waited for most of the students to be picked up. When they were gone I rushed off to find my co-worker. I got permission to leave school early. I usually want to stay at school as late as possible because there is so much work to be done. Today however, I could not wait to get to a quiet dark room. My co-worker gave me permission to leave early without a moments hesitation. She even invited me to go to her house and rest. She lives right next door to the school. My roommate had about an hour before she could leave school, so I took my friend’s key and went to her house to sleep while I waited.
    The bed was like a mini haven as I tried to drift to sleep and escape the growing headache. I woke up some time later when my roommate arrived to gather me. By this time I was feeling much better, although I still was not back to normal. We headed into the wild streets of Chittagong to hail a CNG for a ride home. When the first driver heard our destination he sped off without even considering taking us. The next man was very nice and even spoke a tiny bit of English. We scooted across the seat and gripped the grated walls as the man weaved through traffic in a swift journey home.
    Meagan and I hiked our way to our fourth floor home, ready to collapse and sleep.  Imagine our surprise as we opened the door to find four construction workers tearing apart our veranda screens and frames. The men were hard at work, sawdust, wood chunks, screen pieces, and tools scattered everywhere. I think they were equally surprised to see us. We had alerted maintenance that our screens had holes to patch, but we certainly didn’t expect such a thorough project to be underway. Pounding hammers created a unique medley that may have been pleasant under normal circumstances, but was not exactly the ideal environment for a recovering migraine victim and her roommate who was also experiencing a headache. We took a few pictures, much to the amusement of the workers, and then holed up in my room. I miraculously fell asleep. Perhaps the monotony of the banging eventually became soothing.
    Now I am awake and ready, at least physically, to catch up with the work I wasn’t able to do this afternoon. The migraine is completely gone and I only feel a few faint effects lingering from the whole experience. As I reflect on the afternoon and evening, my heart sings praise to God for His goodness. He cares about every little detail of my life. Even in the midst of a migraine, God lavished me in His love. Here are the blessings:
 
-My students tried to make the end of the day smooth for me.
-One of my boys, who also gets migraines, told me he is praying for me.
-I was able to leave school early.
-My friends graciously opened their house to me, providing the perfect place to recover.
-The construction didn’t bother me nearly as much as it should have.
-I was able to sleep.
-This was only my second migraine this school year.
-I didn't need to get a substitute teacher (which we don't really have).
-My migraine didn’t last as long as they usually do.
-One of my girls brought me a get well card and cookies.

I am very thankful God cares about every little detail in my life.
~Krikkit 

The construction work as we walked in the front door.

Adding the screens to the newly constructed frames.

The cookies and get well card from my student.