A Detour

Accept whatever befalls on you , and in times of humiliation be patient.

For gold is tested in the fire

and those acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation

Sirach 2 :1&2

The years 2010 to 2014 was an extremely tough period for us . After the demise of my father , my mother lost all her inner strength and energy . Her liver issues worsened and there were frequent hospitalisations .

Needless to say , my son was plunged in to a whirl pool of unexpected, unexplainable situations ; he was a witness to the drastic changes that can happen to a couple who were full of life within a brief period of time – And they were his favourite people .

Added to that, was the bulling incident at school . Though we adults thought we had the situation all sorted out , he was constantly talking about it . Looking back I feel he dreaded seeing those boys again .

There was more bad news .. The school mangement also was under severe financial stress ; we soon came to know that this institution would soon be handed over to another group . That came as a thunderbolt for us ! We weren’t feeling optimistic as we had no clue about their attitude towards kids with difficulties. We knew nothing about this new set of people .Our considerate Principal suggested that we find another pasture .

Our minds were too clouded and heavy to make a decision; we decided to take a divinely inspired decision after spending some time alone with God . So we went to Divine Retreat centre once again .

Before leaving ,I had made a decision to give witness to what the Lord has done for us . All these years I have sat there , listening to several the testimonies , dreaming about the day my son would be completely healed ! Won’t I be on the stage too happily bearing witness to our Redeemer and saviour ? But hasn’t the Lord done mighty things for us ? Jeff may not be completely healed but he was communicating more , interacting more , showing significant progress in all spheres . He was even performed a dance with his classmates , his feet never missing a beat !

On the highway to Divine Retreat centre , I was having second thoughts about the testimony. I was getting nervous thinking about it . Was it too soon ? All of a sudden a car with tinted windows came menacingly close to us ; It had a strange graphic of a hooded creature with unforgiven scrawled across its body . I felt it was the evil one trying to dissuade me from glorifying God . And I made up my mind to give my testimony.

After the retreat we went back home .I was still mulling over the choices we have . The school would reopen soon . We would have to pull him out in a few months . Until our plans are finalised , we couldn’t disclose anything to Jeff . Uncertainty is something that stresses him out . Meanwhile Jeff was constantly asking about school . He wanted to get back but at the same time he was anxious. My reassurances didn’t seem to work .

On such a morning, my son had his first seizure attack – totally unexpected. I wasn’t even able to make out what was wrong when I saw him on the floor , face down his legs and hands twitching . Thinking it was one of his pranks , I called out to him and there was no response . Luckily my friend and neighbour rushed in and helped me understand that it was convulsions . She pacified me saying that this was a trial .

Soon my husband came home and Jeff was taken to the Neurology department of a well established hospital. After a series of tests and an ultrasound scan , the doctor decided not to prescribe any medication, asking us to bring him back after a month .

I told myself this was the work of the evil one and refused to pay more attention to it . Mummy never came to know about this either . I knew she worried over Jeff a lot and I didn’t want to aggravate her anxiety.

This was just a temporary block on our path . Or so I convinced myself and went ahead with our routine.

Be merciful to me , O God, be merciful to me , for in you my soul takes refuge

In the shadow of thy wings I take refuge

Until the destroying storms pass by .

Psalm 57:1