Overcoming My Fears

I hate blood. It makes me queasy and sick to my stomach. In the past, I’ve even passed out at the sight of blood. I’m not kidding!

Back in September 2008, Jon and I were living in East Texas, while my husband attended college at LeTourneau University. Unfortunately, he needed to have his wisdom teeth removed and I was the person there to care for him following his oral surgery. Thankfully, the surgery was very successful. Following the procedure, the nurse explained to me I needed to have Jon’s prescriptions filled at the pharmacy. She also stressed the importance of changing the gauze in Jon’s mouth every hour, so they didn’t get infected. I loaded my very groggy husband into our silver Chevy Nova car and drove to Walmart to fill all of his prescriptions.

It was a hot day, so I left Jon in the car and quickly ran inside to have the prescriptions filled. They told me it would be a little while, so I headed back to the car to check on Jon, because it was almost time to change out the gauze.

I got back into the driver’s seat and looked at Jon trying to figure out the best way to reach the gauze in his mouth. I decided to get out of the car and walked around to the passenger seat where I could have a better angle to see inside Jon’s mouth. I sat down next to Jon and was immediately overwhelmed by the sight of blood in his mouth. I turned white as a sheet.

Even in Jon’s haziness, he knew something was wrong. My sweet husband, tried his best to communicate with me and urge me to get into the backseat of the car. I shut the passenger door and got into the backseat of the car. As soon as I sat down, I passed out.

Jon rubbed my leg to let me know he loved me and assure me, I wasn’t alone. When I came to, I was so confused and couldn’t figure out why we were in the Walmart parking lot.

I called my precious friend, Janet, and she came to our rescue! She drove down to meet us at Walmart, helped change Jon’s gauze, and make sure I had all the prescriptions we needed. I’m so thankful for her willingness to love on us in this amazing way.

My aversion to blood is still very strong today.

I know it might sound silly, but I’ve been nervous for the day when our girls start to lose their teeth. I just get queasy thinking about pulling out their teeth. As a result, for the past year or so, I have refused to pull any teeth out of my daughter, Olivia’s mouth.

Last Thursday morning, Olivia’s fourth tooth was ready to come out. Unfortunately, my husband was gone and I was the only one home to help pull out her tooth. GREAT!! Honestly, I was nervous and starting to freak out just a little. I needed moral support and someone to coach me through this, so after getting Jon’s voicemail, I called my Mom.

My Mom told me how to pull out Olivia’s tooth, then reassured me I could do this and everything would be okay. Olivia held the phone while I got ready to pull out her tooth. She was so brave. Her tooth came out and I immediately began to cry and hug Olivia, because I had done it. I was so thankful for my Mom’s unending love and support.

I’m so thankful for these women God has put in my life to love on my in weakness!! These were truly humbling experiences, but constant reminders, God’s power is made perfect in my weakness!!