Figs, boils and hugs

We're been going through a particularly rough patch of late.There have been a number of medical and other emergencies such that we have had a prominent place on many prayer lists. In the ER last Sunday night, my youngest sister, who had come to me in my hour of need wondered out loud if we might need to call an exorcist. When we were at the Vatican a couple of years back, we saw shelves of text books for priests coming to receive instruction on rites including exorcisms. I imagine that recollection as well as the Linda Blair movie was the source of her quip, intended to lighten the mood (something she is exceptionally good at!)
But then, in conversation with my mother, she mentioned that I might need to get a fig tree in case we needed them to make a poultice. She reckoned that boils might be next, or maybe locusts. She, too, was trying to use humor to act as a balm on my bruised and weary spirit. It always works.
But this time, their statements, intended to be humorous, did something more. They made me think of how God was so real to Job, even in his misery,  that was able to declare "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!…
And it also made me think the passage where Habakkuk rejoices saying:
"Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls,Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation."So come boils or locust, feast or famine, mountaintop experiences or deep valleys, I intend to continue looking up, expectantly, to my Father Who loves me.
I intend to keep studying His Word and seeking His direction .
I intend to count my blessings more and rehearse my woes and feed my fears less.
I am blessed in so many ways. Having a mother and a sister who can make me laugh are just the tip of the iceberg. And while we are on the subject of families and people who can make things better, my middle sister said I didn't need an exorcist or a fig tree. She said I just need a hug.
Indeed.



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