limericks and life lessons inspired by a kidney stone.

You know you are a unique individual when you start writing poetry about your physical ailments. But hey, what else is a girl to do when up with pain yet again in the middle of the night? I am already guilty of possessing nursing humor, but this is probably taking things to the next (socially unacceptable?) level... 

Limerick:

I once was a collector of rocks

I stored them in a drawer with my socks

Sunday I learned of a new stone

It was calling my kidney 'home'

Thus ended my love affair with rocks

A traditional haiku:  5-7-5 pattern with a reference to nature/the seasons (I think there are supposed to be other elements as well, but I don't remember much from my English Composition days-- sorry, Ms. Thompson)

OW what is this pain?

harsh as winter's biting wind

thank God, IV meds!

Nontraditional haiku:

kidney stone

kindly leave or else

i hate you

And because I am a nerd (I do think we can all agree this blog post proves that) and like to draw allegories from everything... May I present:

small but MIGHTY.

Do you think you are too small to make a difference? 
I beg to differ... you are small but mighty.
Do you think you are too ordinary to be used for the extraordinary? Au contraire... you are small but mighty.
Consider the kidney stone. A mere 3mm, Sally (yes, that is the name my roomie & I just gave her) is, in the right place and under the right conditions, a force to be reckoned with. And boy, did she reckon with me on Sunday. Literally writhing in pain on the floor, I contemplated if I was dying and if I was being dramatic. The answer to both was no. The answer was Sally the stone-- 3mm wide and passing through my right ureter at a painfully slow rate, worsened by my post-night shift dehydrated state. The size of a tiny pebble, one I would barely notice in my shoe, now that she was in my urinary tract, I could think of nothing BUT her. Small but mighty.

You may consider yourself small and ordinary, but God has great plans for you (don't just take my word for it-- see Jeremiah 29:11). 

And that doesn't mean you have to pack up your life and move to a hospital ship off the coast of West Africa... it might, but it doesn't have to. He is a strategic one, my God, and He will strategically place you where you can be best used for His purposes; where you can be small but mighty. That may be in a Congress seat (dear Lord, please no-- anywhere but there!), it may be at the same office cubicle where you've worked for the past 10 years, it may be cleaning up cheerios and non-organic, store-bought baby food (gasp! you call yourself a mom??-- *please take no offense and note the facetious tone*) off of the kitchen floor for the fifteenth time this week and its only Wednesday, it may be in the very place you said you'd never go (or go back to).

If you are ever feeling un-small and need a reminder and a humility check, watch THIS.
If you are ever doubting God's might, greatness, and creativity, watch THIS.
If you are unsure what you think about God's existence, watch THIS.
(yes, it is all the same clip)

I will end this weird little post with two of my favorite quotes, both currently displayed on the wall in my cabin as a much-needed, daily reminder:

I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
-Edward Everett Hale

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.