We ordered a new bed for Robbie this week. It is one of those adjustable beds, where the head and/or feet can be raised or lowered. It was horribly expensive and I dragged my feet about ordering it, but the time has come when it is pretty much a necessity for him – and us. He is getting progressively weaker as far as his ability to hold up his own weight. When he is in a drug-induced sleep, he is a dead weight and I am having trouble moving him at all then. Bob picks him up like a rag doll, but I am getting older and am not as strong as I once was, and with my heart history I really shouldn’t be trying to lift him like that. Even Bob, as strong as he is, has to be careful about hurting his back. He’s had a muscle strain the last few days from lifting Robbie. We would be in a real pickle if one of us threw out our back or had a heart attack while lifting Robbie.
Robbie’s world since he became so sick has shrunk for the most part to one or two rooms in our house. We have his bed in the living room, primarily so that he can always feel a part of everything. Robbie is tube-fed, and must be sitting, or at least reclining, for an hour after each feeding. His bed is right next to the recliner and every four hours we move him back and forth from bed to Lazy-Boy, which besides preventing reflux, also helps to prevent bed sores. He has always had perfect skin and we want to keep it that way. The new adjustable Sleep Comfort bed will solve the problem of lifting him when he is asleep, but we will still move him as much as possible when he is awake.
Robbie’s bed the last nine years has been a full-size mattress on top of an air mattress. One of us must sleep with him at night so that we will know if he has a seizure in the middle of the night and can take care of him. I’ve never been thrilled about having the bed in the middle of our living room but, as they say, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and Robbie’s needs have to come first. The new bed will be here in a couple weeks and I am holding my breath and praying that it will not seem even more obtrusive in the living room than his old one does. On the other hand, it certainly will be nice to have a really comfortable bed to sleep in after all these years. It even has a three-way massager (at no extra cost) which will be good for Robbie – and really, really nice for me!
It was hard to spend that much money on a bed, and yet we are happy that we can do something to make life a little better for Robbie. He spends a lot of time in his bed and if it makes his body rest easier and be more comfortable then, even beyond all the other considerations, it will be worth it. One of the things we do with him before he goes to sleep at night, or sometimes in the morning when he first wakes up, is sing songs to him in bed, or play the harmonica for him. I was tickled when I recently came upon this verse and shared it with Robbie: “Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.” (Psalm 149:5.) That’s us – singing aloud upon our bed! I can’t wait for Robbie to experience his new bed – or to see the look on his face when we turn the massager on!
Yes, it will be wonderful to make life more comfortable for Robbie, and a little easier for us. God, in His grace, has made it possible for us to care for Robbie all these years, and has cared for our needs, as well. And just as He has provided the physical things, including at this point a new bed to comfort Robbie and help lift him up physically, even so He promises to provide all we need spiritually to comfort and lift our hearts. Jesus said in John 14:16, 27 “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever…Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” He is there to comfort us in all things. “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation,” (II Corinthians 1:4) Jesus also said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) When we need Him most, He lifts us up. “The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” (Psalm 145:14) and “The LORD lifteth up the meek.” (Psalm 147:6) And far better than that adjustable Sleep Comfort bed – “But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head…I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.” (Psalm 3:3, 5)
Someday Jesus will say to Robbie, as He did to others in the New Testament, “Arise! Take up thy bed and walk!” I am sure Robbie will not only walk, but jump and run and dance for joy, as well! He’ll no longer need a bed of any kind. Praise the Lord! And the older I get, the more I look forward to having a new, perfect body of my own, too! Until we come to that day, however, when all our earthly cares and pain are gone forever, we can rest in Him and be lifted up and comforted in the here and now. I say again – praise the Lord!
Robbie’s world since he became so sick has shrunk for the most part to one or two rooms in our house. We have his bed in the living room, primarily so that he can always feel a part of everything. Robbie is tube-fed, and must be sitting, or at least reclining, for an hour after each feeding. His bed is right next to the recliner and every four hours we move him back and forth from bed to Lazy-Boy, which besides preventing reflux, also helps to prevent bed sores. He has always had perfect skin and we want to keep it that way. The new adjustable Sleep Comfort bed will solve the problem of lifting him when he is asleep, but we will still move him as much as possible when he is awake.
Robbie’s bed the last nine years has been a full-size mattress on top of an air mattress. One of us must sleep with him at night so that we will know if he has a seizure in the middle of the night and can take care of him. I’ve never been thrilled about having the bed in the middle of our living room but, as they say, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and Robbie’s needs have to come first. The new bed will be here in a couple weeks and I am holding my breath and praying that it will not seem even more obtrusive in the living room than his old one does. On the other hand, it certainly will be nice to have a really comfortable bed to sleep in after all these years. It even has a three-way massager (at no extra cost) which will be good for Robbie – and really, really nice for me!
It was hard to spend that much money on a bed, and yet we are happy that we can do something to make life a little better for Robbie. He spends a lot of time in his bed and if it makes his body rest easier and be more comfortable then, even beyond all the other considerations, it will be worth it. One of the things we do with him before he goes to sleep at night, or sometimes in the morning when he first wakes up, is sing songs to him in bed, or play the harmonica for him. I was tickled when I recently came upon this verse and shared it with Robbie: “Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.” (Psalm 149:5.) That’s us – singing aloud upon our bed! I can’t wait for Robbie to experience his new bed – or to see the look on his face when we turn the massager on!
Yes, it will be wonderful to make life more comfortable for Robbie, and a little easier for us. God, in His grace, has made it possible for us to care for Robbie all these years, and has cared for our needs, as well. And just as He has provided the physical things, including at this point a new bed to comfort Robbie and help lift him up physically, even so He promises to provide all we need spiritually to comfort and lift our hearts. Jesus said in John 14:16, 27 “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever…Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” He is there to comfort us in all things. “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation,” (II Corinthians 1:4) Jesus also said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) When we need Him most, He lifts us up. “The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” (Psalm 145:14) and “The LORD lifteth up the meek.” (Psalm 147:6) And far better than that adjustable Sleep Comfort bed – “But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head…I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.” (Psalm 3:3, 5)
Someday Jesus will say to Robbie, as He did to others in the New Testament, “Arise! Take up thy bed and walk!” I am sure Robbie will not only walk, but jump and run and dance for joy, as well! He’ll no longer need a bed of any kind. Praise the Lord! And the older I get, the more I look forward to having a new, perfect body of my own, too! Until we come to that day, however, when all our earthly cares and pain are gone forever, we can rest in Him and be lifted up and comforted in the here and now. I say again – praise the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment