Fast forward a few days, and it was pretty rough going for Darin. Pain and nausea management proved very difficult and I spent some long days there with him holding his hand and supporting him as he endured a great deal of physical and emotional suffering. Finally, there was a moment that he appeared to have more awareness of what was going on around him and he looked at me and said, "Honey, where is my wedding ring?"
Uh oh. I realized that the last time I had seen it was when I slipped in into my pocket on surgery day. I told him that I needed to find it at home and bring it the next day. He moved on, but my heart sank. That night I ransacked my washer and dryer, my backpack, all the pockets of the clothing I wore that day. It was no where to be found. Assuming that it must have fallen out of my pocket at some point in that day, I took several days to comb the hospital for that ring. I looked under chairs and in between cushions on sofas in the surgery center. I checked the cafeteria, the maternity center, the family lounge and I spoke the with security department and lost and found in the hospital multiple times. I felt so awful. I had lost my husband's wedding ring on what might have been the most frightening day of his life
I waited until he brought it up again and then admitted that I had lost it and had given up hope of finding it. I was dejected and he was pretty sad about it too, but what could be done that I had not already done?
Fast forward several more days, and my 34th birthday had arrived. Darin was continuing to struggle through a very slow recovery and had also started to experience some complications that were making him very ill. The truth was that I wished I could just skip my birthday rather than pretend that it was a happy day. But then I realized what would bring joy on that day to some miserable circumstances.
I wanted to go out and buy Darin a new wedding band and give it to him for my birthday. It seemed like an extravagant and perhaps unnecessary expense given the circumstances. But I realized that Darin's injury in many ways was ushering in a new era for us and our marriage. And in a flash I realized that I wasn't meant to find the old ring. This was my moment to commemorate our new era with an extravagant gesture. I wanted to remind him how glad I was that I had chosen him and how happy I was to stay with him during these difficult days and the ones yet to come.
The Holy Week reflection on my heart tonight technically isn't an event from the Holy Week, but is a significant moment right before Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This is the story of a woman who gave a far more extravagant gift commemorating a far more important moment in history and made a much greater mark on human history than I could ever dream of making!
Jesus was dining in the home of a man named Simon the Leper when, as Matthew 26:7 tells it:
"a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he relined at the table."
As the story continues, there are those who scoffed at her gesture, reasoning that her perfume would have gone to better use had it been sold and donated to the poor. But Jesus is moved by her extravagance and in 26:10-13 we read his response:
"Why do you trouble this woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me For you will always have the poor with you but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I saw to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her."
My heart is moved by the exchange between Jesus and the woman in this story. I see that there can be beauty in immediately acting upon a worshipful impulse that has been prompted by the Holy Spirit. That such moments, if acted upon might become significant to usher in something new He has prepared. They can be opportunities to draw closer to the Savior. I also get a sense from Jesus' words, that such opportunities don't come around everyday and they ought to be embraced,( even if doing so doesn't seem practical) or the opportunity will be lost,
Now, almost a year after Darin's injury, the storms are not raging in my world quite like they were when I knew that I was meant to give Darin that ring. Going forward I want to retain the sensitivity I was granted in the aftermath of Darin's injury. When the chances that don't come along everyday to give extravagantly in worship to my God, I want to follow the example of the woman who annointed Jesus. I want to draw closer to him and be a part of the plans He has for this world.
xoxo,
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