I’ve Got To Take a Sick Day
Winter in the Midwest has been doing its usual thing — a good share of gray and cold days that leaves us numb and not feeling much of anything — not too ambitious, not too cheerful, not even too bright. We manage, as we always do, to deal with winter — but do the TV and newspapers have to give the season another name — “The Cold and Flu Season”? How awful does that sound? A whole season of sickness!
I’ve seen a couple of commercials on television for cold medications (that almost scare me they’re so potent) that will get the sufferer through the worst cold symptoms and on with his or her life. They’ve caught my eye, because they depict a dad in one, and a mother in the other, standing in the doorway of a little child’s room and saying, “I’m sorry, but I’m gonna have to take a sick day.” In each case, the child looks at the parent with a completely bewildered expression, and “The Voice” says, “Moms and Dads can’t take sick days” and then extols the wonder product. Most of us remember parents taking care of us when we had a bad cold, a sore throat, or upset stomach, and how safe we felt because they were in charge, and they knew how to make us feel better. Later in our lives, perhaps as parents ourselves, we came to realize that calm, controlled Mom and confident Dad were probably anxious and sleepless over the queasy, feverish child in the next bedroom.
Children are seldom aware of their parents’ vigilance, and we adults may not notice the ongoing protection of our heavenly father, but it is there nonetheless. Whatever the circumstances, God doesn’t sleep, take sick days or vacations, or turn his back on us when we get ourselves into a mess.
As I searched for a verse or two to express God’s never-failing care, I found these words in the Book of Psalms. My study Bible gives an explanation for the use of “keeps” and “keep” in these verses — because here it means to “watch over” — as the Lord protects us through this life and into the next.
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.
– Psalm 121:2-4, 8
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers