Adversities

I've just spent (ironically) a very enjoyable hour with my older sister and my younger brother (and his wife) tonight, while we chatted, went around the shops and bought delicacies that reminded us of our roots, while waiting for our dad to get out of surgery.  He had a gallstone that was stuck in the neck of his gall bladder and it had to be removed.  

Dad had been enduring (as he doesn't really complain) pains in his stomach since Friday.  It had worsened over the weekend and mum and I have tried to talk him into seeing the doctor.  He had started to get more nauseous and was throwing up practically everything he ate.  Finally, he allowed me to take him in on Monday.  An ultrasound was ordered but the earliest they could fit him in was 5pm on Tuesday.  However, the doctor told Dad to go to the hospital when the pain became unbearable.  Of course, with my dad's high tolerance of pain, that never came to be.  

Anyway, the most important thing is that he had his surgery just in time as the gall bladder was apparently so infected it was about to burst.  I think, it may have taught dad what we, his family, often tell him - there's no point in unnecessarily putting yourself through suffering when something could be done, especially in a country as blessed as ours, where healthcare is fantastic and practically everything is free in the hospital.

Another adversity thrown our way to conquer, to learn from.  That's the purpose adversities have served in my life - they have taught me something, they have reminded me to cherish my loved ones more, they have strengthened my faith as I live through another day.  It makes is easier to accept things as they happen and to "move on" in the most positive way I can, knowing that I have always survived trying times.  I question God less and less and He has proven many times that something good always comes from these moments.  

Adversities remind me to be grateful for the blessings that I have in my life right here, right now.