Nausea, Heartburn, Indigestion, Yadda Yadda, Yadda Yadda...Yay, Pepto Bismol!

I've just finished my slow and steady road to recovery from being quite sick at the end of last week/beginning of this week. In the time it took the clock to roll from Thursday evening to Monday afternoon, I had lost over 11 pounds and I wasn't able to keep down any food to keep myself from sliding further down the scale (I know this sounds wonderful to some, but trust me, no amount of weight lost was worth how I was feeling). I had felt iffy during parts of some of the days, but the worst time was Sunday night.

I took a trip with the youth group to Merriville Ice Complex in Mishawaka. We went skating, and we had a great time, but the bus ride home was a turning point for my evening, because my stomach was not very happy. The rest of the evening was spent with me fighting my body, trying to make it do things it was not comfortable with...and I lost the fight repeatedly. The one fight I would not lose however, was the battle for sleep.

I've had a few stomach bugs during my day, so I know how to attack them when they get me. I take a shot or two of NyQuil and a big drink of pepto bismol. Yes, I take both, and the differences between the two are actually quite applicable to more than just gastrointestinal turnovers.

Pepto Bismol is a reliever. From the moment it hit my lips as a child with my first bug, I felt better. It doesn't taste wonderful, but it was the taste of "feel better" that I was in need of. Sure enough, just like the cheesy commercials always say, my nausea, upset stomach, and everything else felt great almost immediately after drinkin' the pink stuff. The only problem with Pepto comes two hours after you take it, because the pains and aches are back...WITH A VENGEANCE! What a smack in the face! You thought you had it all under control and all the bad stuff was gone and then WHAM! And they don't go away immediately the next time. It's quite traumatic for a child...or a 22 year old.

So then there's NyQuil, which Mom always offers that second time around. She offers it this time, because every child is desperate enough to accept it. Let's face it, NyQuil tastes terrible. There is no good flavor, nor is there any proper way to wash it down so that you don't make "that" face. It is just plain uncomfortable. But the funny thing about NyQuil is it is more than just a reliever. You feel the effects of NyQuil even when you wake up the next day, because the pains in your stomach (if they've returned at all) are much less poignant. You still have a crick in your neck, but the blinding migraine has been minimalized. It gives you more than just relief, but it helps make steps of progress and correction.

In the past five years of my life, I've spoken at a few events, and I've gotten various receptions. I've been blessed at times with people loving every word I've said. And while that made for an easy ride home, I feel I've been blessed even more so by crowds I've found disagreeing with every syllable I've chosen. You see, when I speak at events, or I talk to friends, I don't want to be a comforter at all costs. I don't want to be just a Pepto public speaker that hides problems for a few days and leaves people with nothing to use in their daily battle. Sometimes, I'd love it to go down like NyQuil. I know people may not like it right then, but the next day they may look back and see some amount of Truth in what was said...at least that's the aim...and the only Truth I can proclaim is that of Jesus Christ.

Jesus...
...the All-time
...Descending
...Walking
...Praying
...Crying
...Living
...Dying
...And Living again
...So you can see the Face of the Father...medicine.

Love y'all,
Bobby