Every day I wake up to stroke, and even though I try to have a good attitude toward “my new normal” every day is hard because I don’t know what the day will bring. Today there was a storm. The weather was wet and cold, and a snow and ice storm was forecasted. Albert and I were going about our usual evening activities, making dinner, taking out the trash, folding clothes, when I asked Albert if he turned the faucets on outside to drip water so that the pipes wouldn’t freeze. Albert put on his coat and gloves and went outside. When he came inside, he motioned to me that everything was good.
The ice storm came and it came with a fierceness that didn’t let up for days. Overnight the temperature dropped to -9 degrees, which never happens in Texas. On the third day of the storm, I noticed that the hoses were still on the faucets outside. I asked Albert if he turned the faucets on to drip as I asked him to do earlier in the week. He looked at me with a blank look on his face and appeared to say something like “I don’t know”. I was furious. I wanted to yell at him for being irresponsible. I thought our pipes could burst at any moment. Instead of getting angrier and yelling at Albert, I told myself to calm down because yelling would only make the situation worse.
The next thing I knew, Albert and I outside trying to take the frozen hoses off of the faucets and wrapping the pipes. There were small pieces of foam around the pipes and we added more foam, wrapping both with duct tape. Then we wrapped towels around the pipes and started the drip.
I calmed down as we walked into the house and began thinking, I’m a child of God, as is Albert. Why am I getting so frustrated about the situation? Albert had this stroke and is handicap. He can’t use his right arm, has expressive aphasia and can’t have a conversation or totally understand what I’m saying to him, but God has given him life and God has a purpose for him on this earth and in my life. God has a purpose for me, and it is not to rule over or to control him.
Albert is alive, and God didn’t change his or my position in the family. Albert is still the head of the household and I’m still his helpmate. These are the roles that God has given us, and roles that we choose to follow. I realized that God is taking care of Albert and his needs, and when Albert is weak, God is strong.
Paul says in II Corinthians 12:9-10: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…” That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
With God, Albert is strong.
Learning to Live Life and Loving it - Carol Johnson Blogs 