Eliminations happy and sad…

22. March 2008 by Carol.

Recently my milkman delivered samples of really good orange juice and pink grapefruit juice.  I LOVE pink grapefruit.  Until this year I’d order them by the cases from my favorite place in Texas that grows them and ships them fresh to you just off the tree.  Oh YUM they were the BEST!  And oh how I wanted that grapefruit juice!  But one (or maybe even more) of the drugs I take would be very unhappy if I consumed grapefruit and while my kidney is happier for it, I lament the elimination of them from my diet forever.  But if I held a grapefruit in my hand and Jaime’s kidney in my other hand and weighed them out…grapefruit…kidney…grapefruit…kidney…oh puhleease, no contest. The kidney allowed me to eliminate the possibility (at least for now) of dialysis or death from kidney failure.  So I sadly and happily took the grapefruit juice to work and shared it with my colleagues to get the temptation out of my fridge.

Another elimination in my life is one of the drugs I’ve had to take everyday since the transplant.  I took two of them a day so slowly my number of daily pills is shrinking.  I’ll always take a bunch but I’m down quite a bit from the 50+ I took when I first has the transplant.

Another type of elimination that it seems like many of my friends have been experiencing recently (six in the last few weeks and several others with parents who are very ill) is the death of elderly parents.  I have watched my friends care for their aging parents, go through the stress of determing the best course of care (in home or in a nursing home), have regular visits to the emergency room with their aging parents and now grieve their loss.  It is an experience I remember well as I went through it several years ago.  My parents were older when I was born and as I’ve gotten older (and gone through the decline of my kidney function) I have found myself grateful of that fact.  It meant that I went through what my friends are going through but at a younger age when I had more strength and energy and health.   I see God’s wisdom in this for me.  It also allows me help my friends through this time because I’ve known it and can relate to it experientially.  I pray that I can be an encouragement to them all.

Today is Good Friday and I recognize this day in my life as a time of rejoicing even though it is a day of remembering the crucifixion of my Lord Jesus Christ.  His death on the cross and resurrection three days later have eliminated my need for eternal payment for the sins of my life.   “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone…” to eliminate that debt for me and Jesus paid it all on the cross.  That is the ultimate elimination.

May you know this truth in your heart, too! 

Thanks for reading!

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