(*please note: This was written on Wednesday, Jan 24… and I am 100% alright.*)
There are a lot of situations where we don’t want to be first. We’ll intentionally show up 30 minutes late because being the first to a party is lame.. We’ll linger at the beginning of a food line because, for some reason, no one wants to be “that guy”… And I didn’t want to be the first on my team to have to go to the hospital, but here I am.
Someone always has to be first.
Right now, I have an IV in my right hand, I just got blood drawn from my left, and there’s a guy in the little cubical next to me who’s snores are breezing through the thin curtain separating us. Homeboy is OUT (& sleep talking a little bit, ha).
How did I get here?
I don’t know exactly, just what others have told me.. & I think that’s been the scariest part of the whole thing.
Tonight, we were partnering with a local ministry from the homeless & drug addicted community. We were gathered around Harry, one of the head people of the Foundation, as he told us of its origins: David Wilkerson, Time Square Church, & Teen Challenge. SO COOL. Having friends that have gone through TC in the States, I was super interested in this origin story. I was focused and oh so excited.
The sun was directly in my eyes, but my teammate next to me noticed & put his notebook up to block it for me. It worked for a bit, but suddenly it was like the sun got super bright, everything was being engulfed in white, and I felt the floor start to sway.
Next thing I know, my head is pulsing with pain all over and my vision was incredibly blurred. As it started to focus, I realize I’m surrounded by people I don’t recognize and in a place so unfamiliar. All I could hear was:
“Grace, I have you. Grace, I have you.”
My memory was coming back to me – Cyndi “Mamá” Bird (one of our squad coaches) was right in front of me saying those words. I knew I was supposed to know who she was, but I didn’t completely recognize her. I just knew I trusted her, and that was all I needed in the moment. Eventually my brain pieced everything back together – I’m in Medellin, Colombia, I’m on the World Race, these people are my squad and my leadership, and I am okay…
I sat in a chair, holding a slab of meat to my head. They gave me juice, water, a plate of food, and slowly began telling me what happened. Cyndi & Harry said I fell pretty hard, whacked my head on the tile, and they thought I had a seizure.
So, here I am at the hospital – waiting to see the result of the blood test, getting ready for a heart exam, & praying they all come back negative for seizure. The doctor already said I don’t have a concussion (praise) and he didn’t think I had a seizure, but the tests are just to confirm.
I’m just bitter about missing out on the ministry opportunity. The devil is SUCH a liar, you know? I was so ready to experience church in Colombia, get to minister to women and play with children, give them food & water… and I end up in the hospital with a stupid headache for hours. What a low blow.
Honestly, I still don’t know what I’m learning from this experience. We’ve been learning these past 2 weeks that wherever our feet are, the Lord can do His work. Well, my feet are in the hospital… so let’s see how He works.
———
Well – all the tests came back NEGATIVE for seizure, yay! All the doctor said I needed to do was add salt to my diet (random) and I was good to go. 6 hours & $150 later, I was back with my squad, hearing about their time with the ministry. It seemed to be the hardest thing any of them have had to witness, but I still loved hearing all of their testimonies from the evening and how they were processing. I was impacted just through their stories and their experience.
Even though I wasn’t there, the devil couldn’t steal my joy or keep my praise from the Lord. Through it all, He was still shown the glory – and at the end of the day, whether with the homeless or in the hospital, that’s really all that matters.
