To begin with, we heard the news that my husband's VERY elderly grandfather had a fall and broke his hip, which required surgery to repair. He is 96 or so, and there were a number of complications based on his age, blood pressure, etc. Thankfully, he is doing as well as can be expected, given the circumstances. Unfortunately, because of his age and health, it's entirely possible that his days with us are numbered, so it continues to weigh heavily on us.
About 15 minutes after hearing that news, I got word at the office that two of our church families were experiencing a crisis of sorts. I work at the church, and anytime any church member is ill, dies, or experiences some kind of life-altering event, we feel it very deeply. Everyone in the office continues working, but we're all actually thinking about the news and what we might need to do next. Before working at a church, I never realized how crucial a role the church plays in many people's lives. While the hospital or a close family member is usually the first phone call during a crisis, the church is often the second. And it sometimes takes the coordination of several staff members to establish who will be able to help and in what way. The day-to-day business of the organization dictates our task list, but stopping everything to aid a church family is our purpose. I think it's pretty cool.
And of course, somewhere in the back of my mind over the course of the week are the terribly annoying mundane things which naturally cause more stress than they should: lease renewals, vacation plans, doctors appointments, kennel arrangements, etc. etc.
Strangely, I noticed that during the stress of this week, I hardly took two seconds to stop everything and pray. Instead, I felt like everything I did and said was a prayer. Sometimes God knows our prayers even when we don't stop to speak them aloud.
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