Surprise

One of my regular reading fares is a small book by my favorite spiritual writer, Henri Nouwen, entitled Bread for the Journey. It is a Thought-a-Day book containing the much loved author’s “own intensely-lived faith journey”. The entry for the first day of the year, January 1 is as follows:

“Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy. It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity.”

I must admit that I read this entry only last night and upon reading it, I started to go back to the last few days if indeed the Lord had had a surprise for me that I was not aware of until then. Yes, he had!

For the last few weeks or so since before Christmas, I have been suffering from symptoms of what seemed like a case of Dyspepsia – mid-stomach pains, feeling of a full-stomach all the time, expelling gas, burping even long after meals, etc. I self-medicated with antacids but without relief. Finally, anti-dyspepsia pills I got over the counter relieved me of the symptoms but only temporarily. I was told that what I was feeling was normal during the holiday season when there is so much food to eat. It could also be from the stress brought about by the preparations for the wedding in the family.

But, the symptoms kept coming back even after only a light meal and even after the wedding and Christmas. My research on the internet said that the symptoms could also be caused by stomach ulcer or cancer which really scared me. However, the pain and discomfort were manageable enough that I decided to forego seeing my doctor until after the New Year.

On New Year’s Day, my family and I went to some sort of New Year gathering with my siblings and our families. Not feeling anything, I went on a binge and pig myself out on everything on the table practically throwing away all caution to the winds. One thing, however, that I consciously did was to be more relaxed and to take my time as I ate my food.

Guess what? It has been three days since and today I just noticed that all my symptoms are gone! I feel great and back to my old self. Is this my surprise from the Lord?

What is your surprise today?