About Finding Immediate Care

Well it was bound to happen. The flu virus came and visited me these past two weeks. It hit me on a Wednesday night. I was with my boys at a skating event and felt a tickle in my throat. I ran home and took an immunity drink and went to bed early.

The next day I started the day off with slight coughing. I tried to counter this bug with a concoction of DayQuil and vitamins. As the day marched on, I began to feel chills and by the end of the day, I felt worse. I pulled out the big guns and used NightQuil to fight off the ill effects of this bug.

The next morning, I struggled to get ready for work. I was coughing up the proverbial lung and counting my cough drops like bullets to see if I can make it through a busy Friday. As I commuted to work, symptoms began to multiply and intensify. By the time I got to the office, I realized that the day was a no go. I cancelled my appointments and headed home.

Now, the old me would have ignored how badly I felt. I would have run to Walgreens and bought up the "Quil" family. I would have toughed it out and fought through the day. I have been known to give myself walking pneumonia as I fight off bugs. Not my finest moments, Tracy threatened to kill me if the pneumonia didn't. I would often ignore the seriousness of my symptoms to my detriment.

But this illness was different, I knew that there was medicine I could take if I went to the doctor. If I sought help, I could lessen the duration and symptoms of my illness. (Honestly, I did not want to miss out on my training runs). So, I went to the Immediate Care Center and received that nasty nose test which confirmed that I had the flu.

I got Tami-flu and cough medicine and was told to stay home the next few days and rest. Now I had the flu shot, but was still visited by the bug. I was told at the clinic that even though I got sick, the vaccine lessened my symptoms and ultimately the duration of the illness. Further, the medication I received lessened the severity of the flu. I was back on my feet within five days. This was the soonest I got back on my feet after getting sick. For once, I got help for my illness and was awarded with lesser symptoms and duration.

Sin is often analogous to illness. Through our actions, we become out of alignment with God's wishes. We try to "tough it out" and get ourselves well through our own actions. We try to make things right according to our sense of justice. We do not seek help from our Holy Father.

Like a doctor, Christ has given us redemption and forgiveness. All we have to do, is go to him admitting our sins. God has promised that if we are repentant, our sins are forgiven. Too many times I have withheld that confession and repentance to the detriment of myself. I let sin permeate my life and kept myself from God's blessings. Sometimes the hardest part is admitting to the sin rather than the actual prayer for forgiveness. Christ is that doctor ready with a remedy and all I have to do is visit him in prayer.

I am not saying that there are no ramifications for our sins when we confess and repent to God. However, confession and repentance start the healing process, and most importantly set ourselves right with God. I hope we don't ignore the ill effects of sin and tough it out on our own. Christ is waiting to heal our hearts and forgive our deeds. All we have to do is ask for help.

Doyll