I bought these jelly beans before Easter because their colors are different than the standard hues. However, I forgot about them until Easter had passed, so I wondered what I might do with them. Today I was given the most perfect reason to bring the jelly beans out of hiding. You see, I woke up this morning to read an email from Louie, who is the husband of my longtime friend, Deb, that caused my heart to ache and tears to flow. Here is the email that I received (in abbreviated form):
This letter is going out to family members and friends that may or may not know of the situation that Deb was in Friday night the 28th of March.
She woke up on that morning with what she describes as "rotating" or wavy vision around the edges of sight. This was apparently visible to Dr Sabir at Northern Eye who she went to see on an emergency run around 4:30PM. His concerns were real and he immediately sent her to the ER at St Joe's Hospital in Brainerd. I waited with her until her situation was revealed to us. The news was nearly impossible for me to absorb. Of the things that could cause this wavy vision were, MS, stroke, blood clot, tumor, aneurysm and a few other maladies that were also possibilities. We were informed that Deb would be sent by ambulance to St Joe's Hospital in St Paul where they had the best neurological staff and facilities for dealing with this type of thing. I was terrified, as was she. I put her in the ambulance at roughly 8:30PM.
That night I spent alone was flush with emotions as I called the kids, sisters, mothers, and friends to explain what was going on and to ask for prayers, while attempting to nuke some lasagna that Deb had prepared for Mom who was coming for supper that night. Just taking the lasagna out of the microwave, realizing that she had put it together, brought me to tears and begging God's mercy for what might lie ahead in St Paul. I spent an absolutely miserable night alone with my thoughts and a variety of prayers for intervention, healing, and grace.
I left home at 6 AM for St Paul. It was about 8:30 AM and she had finished her MRI scan. The doctor came in around 11:45 and gave us the results of the MRI. Nothing........no clots, no tumor, no stroke, no MS, no aneurysm, nothing. He just said "you're outa here." As much as I love Easter, and that feeling of being renewed, it paled to this information. Jen and Ross (2 of Deb and Louie's 3 children) lit up, Deb was flabbergasted, and I was......rewarded. God listened.
We finally left the hospital at 1:30 PM. We are home now, grateful, happy, and once again content in our little slice of heaven. Until Friday night, my prayer life was pretty minimal......no, it stunk......
Not any more.
Louie
This day that I have dubbed Jelly Bean Sunday, I rejoice in my friends' answered prayers. I celebrate life with all of its beautiful colors by enjoying a jelly bean sundae. Colors all around me suddenly look so much more vibrant. They were always there, but I now notice them even more! I am blessed to have my friends, Deb and Louie.