Laryngitis!

by Kim Avery

I am on my fourth week of laryngitis. My fourth week. Now math is not my strong suit but I do believe that is 30 long days of no talking, speaking, whining, crying, fussing, encouraging, sharing, regaling, retelling, rehearsing or recounting any of the brilliant thoughts that rent space in my mind.

At first, I assumed it was no big deal. I’ve had laryngitis once or twice in the past and after a few days it finally went away.

Two days without talking was stressful. But hey, you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. (I think that’s found in Proverbs 58:11 if you want to look it up.)

But 30 days, now that’s another story.

Desperation

Thursday, in a fit of desperation, I went to visit the third physician I’ve consulted about this death-defying disease.

Good news. My vocal cords are fine and the laryngitis is simply the result of a nasty virus my husband lovingly shared.

But there’s bad news as well. Why I am surprised? This side of heaven, there’s always bad news as well.

The only way for my voice to come back is if I sit in self-imposed, complete, total, absolute, comprehensive, all-embracing, all-inclusive, non-negotiable, broad, wide-ranging, extreme silence for another 10-30 days. Not one word can be spoken!

Ahem.

Just in case you didn’t know, let me elaborate on why this is a complete, total, absolute, comprehensive, all-embracing, all-inclusive, non-negotiable, broad, wide-ranging, unmitigated catastrophe.

Catastrophe

I use my voice for a living. As a life coach, I talk all day, every day on the phone. As a Bible study teacher, I teach weekly. As a public speaker, I speak. And as an instructor, I instruct.

At home, I enjoy telling my husband about my day each day after work. And isn’t it every mothers sworn duty to remind her son, hourly, to take out the trash?

God has a sense of humor doesn’t He? I mean if I were going to have an infection, why not in my big toe? I like my big toe. I count on it for lots of things and it looks very cute with its lipstick pink polish, but I could still limp my way through life without it. But not my voice, there’s no way to do what I do without sound.

Hmmm, without a voice, I can’t ‘do’ anything.

However will God manage without me helping Him out in such a wide variety of ways? (I hope you’re worried about this because I sure am.)

Honestly, if I can’t do anything, what will I, well, ‘do’?

Human Being or Human Doing

All that’s left is ‘being.’ I can only rest and be who I was created to be - a human being instead of a human doing.

Slowly, another brilliant thought rises to the surface of my mind.

Could it be that God allows me to serve Him because He loves me and not because He needs me?

Is there a chance that God’s unconditional love doesn’t depend on my performance, my accomplishments, or the number of words I say?

Do you think that perhaps He’s wild about me just as I am?

Well, I’ll have plenty of time to ponder these thoughts in the days and weeks to come. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what you think.

How does God remind you that He loves you just the way you are? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below.

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Tags: *Kim Avery, God, laryngitis

This entry was posted on Monday, April 19th, 2010 at 6:25 am and is filed under *Kim Avery, Daily Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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