Here's the back story: Tim began his Hepatitis C treatments last Friday, including his first injection of Interferon. He was, as expected, very, very sick after the injection. He tried to work outside for a while on Saturday morning, but by afternoon his headache was so bad that he could barely function. Add to that chills, severe joint aches and muscle aches, and you get the idea.
On Sunday morning he could barely get his head off the pillow and I went to church an emotional basket case.I couldn't imagine how Tim could manage to get through the next 24 weeks of treatment if every weekend was going to be this horrific.
At church our pastor called for small group prayer in between the worship time and the sermon. He invited anyone who wished to have prayer to raise their hands and then encouraged everyone around those folks to gather around to pray.
Without thinking, I immediately raised my hand.
Dear friends gathered around me, beautiful prayers for comfort and healing were offered up and hugs were exchanged.
And then the blessing snowball began!
Emily, Cassy and Dan suddenly offered to come over that afternoon and do the outdoor work that was falling sadly behind with Tim's ill health. As much as it makes Tim uncomfortable to accept help, I thanked them with all my heart and said we'd love to have them come over, and I offered a big pot of Black Bean Chili in exchange. The agreed upon time was 2:00. As I left church, I ran into my "adopted NJ brother," John. He gave me a hug and I half-jokingly asked him if he wanted to come over and rake a few leaves that afternoon.
After I'd told him that Emily, Cassy and Dan were coming over, John then set to organizing a real work party for the afternoon -- unbeknownst to me. Our Pastor even announced it in church after I'd made an early exit to go home and check on Tim!
When I got home Tim was up and around, though wobbly and weak. I informed him that Emily, Cassy and Dan were coming over in the afternoon to help rake up the leaves and get things done. Tim's reaction was uncertainty at first, but I insisted that we needed the help. Eventually he began to think about how to organize things effectively so that we'd get as much done as possible.
It was then that I shot a text message to all Tim's kids and told them of the working party. Shortly after that John called to tell me he'd been organizing and that a few more folks from church would be coming over.
By 2:00 there were some 15 people in our yard!
They raked leaves.
They got on lawn mowers to cut and suck up the leaves.
They threw Charley's toy more times than I can count.
They dug fence posts for the pasture.
They roofed a storage shed.
In addition, they chipped branches, helped rake leaves that had fallen from our tree into the next door neighbor's yard, and shook and collected the last of the apples from the trees.
By dark, two months of work had been finished in just four hours, and our property was ready for winter.
With the work done, we all converged in the warm house (where my Aunt Muriel had been waiting for us) for a hearty dinner of Black Bean Chili with all the delicious trimmings -- sour cream, shredded jack cheese, and fresh cilantro.
Our deepest thanks go to Emily, Sam, Cassy, Dan, Balin, Don, Dustin, Corbin, Casey, Doug, Alex, Chrissy, Scott, David, John, Rhonda, Kali and Kari.
Tim's stress level is much, much lower, which will help his treatment be more effective.
We love you all so much! Thank you for this blessing -- it took our breath away!
- Catherine
