Diligent Preparation
by: David Goss, (M.Div., 2007), Alumni Council Member
Last night was a harrowing experience to say the least, as my oldest son, Noah, had a terrible reaction to a macaroon that sent him into anaphylactic shock. As we approached the Emergency Room window, Noah vomited all over the entry mat, then twice in the hallway as they were rushing us to a room.
They treated him with oxygen and albuterol and gave him an injection of epinephrine to counteract the potentially life-threatening allergic shock he was in.
We spent about 4 hours in the Emergency Room as Noah broke out in gnarly hives about an hour later and was itching so hard that he started bleeding in numerous places. I had to hold his arms down as he cried in pain and discomfort. Fortunately, the antihistamine did its work shortly thereafter and he was back to normal.
The lesson that Tracey and I took away from this frightening night was that we have to be completely prepared if and when this happens again. This means that we are buying six more EPI-Pens to have in the cars, in Tracey’s purse, at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, etc. We are going to be watching training videos on treatment and appropriate protocols if this were to happen again. Of course, as we have been breathing sighs of relief, we are just so thankful to the Lord that he is OK.
Diligent preparation. That’s what this is about for us on the day after. But the diligent preparation has to take place on the day before, not the day after!
Isn’t that the way it is with our spiritual lives as well? There will be so, so many people standing before God in eternity with the thought– “Oh, if only I had taken this more seriously!” or “I just wish I had prepared for this day better, but I just didn’t think about it.” or “This just never was a strong concern for me. I always figured that it would work out ok.”
Well, what if the reality is you are expected to be diligently prepared?
That’s the lesson that Noah’s experience has brought home for us.
As we were leaving the Emergency Room, we noticed that the vomit still left a mark on the welcome mat, and I joked to Noah that he had really “made his mark” on Cottage Hospital.
The truth is though, last night made its mark on me.
Originally published March 12, 2015 at https://davidgoss.wordpress.com/
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