In Sickness and In Health

written by: Laura

I feel very blessed that when I was thinking about what to write for this series I had many experiences of people showing love to me to choose from.

Since it is Valentine's day I wanted to share a story about Hubby showing love to me.

Still difficult to choose one. 

The ones that keep coming to mind are ones that show his sacrificial love to me when I am at my worst. These times are the ones that mean way more than any gift or date night ever will. 

First, a little background information.

I am one of those people that doesn't get sick very often, but when I do it's always a doozie.

Hubby is, at his very core, averse to any medical anything-getting shots, giving blood, even walking into a hospital. He has come a long way in this, but knowing this helps me appreciate this story even more.

It was a Thursday. We were on our second trip to Russia to have court and pick up Little Man. 

We passed court (aka we are officially parents!) that morning and spent the rest of the day running errands before coming back to the apartment we were renting for the afternoon.

We had plans to go out with our Russian "friends" (in the American sense of the word) that we had known for an entire 48 hours for a celebratory dinner. 

About 15 minutes before they were supposed to pick us up, I started feeling just a little bit off. I told Hubby that I would lie down for a few minutes and for him to call our friends and that maybe we could go in about 30 minutes.

Within about 5 minutes it became very apparent that dinner was a no go. I ran to the one bathroom in the apartment and it was B.A.D. I don't want to get too graphic, because I've already lived through it once (barely) and I don't want to gross you out completely, but just know that it was LEVEL 10 BAD. Whatever you are imagining that to be, it was happening. This went on for at least 24 hours.

At one point I was just lying on the floor outside the bathroom in the fetal position because I didn't have the strength to make it to the couch. I was getting cramps in my legs from dehydration and was about to have to go to the hospital.

Sweet Hubby vacillated between helping me to the bathroom, cleaning up after me (remember level 10 bad), calling everyone he knew to call both in Russia and America to get advice on what to do, comforting me, carrying me into the shower, and many more things that I probably can't remember. 

In sickness and in health. 

Hubby fulfilled his vows (and then some) that he promised on a warm, rainy June Saturday many years before. On our wedding day, he probably wasn't thinking about my impending Chernobyl-like food poisoning 8 years later in the middle of a Russian one room apartment. 

As much as I loved him on the day we got married, my love for him has grown exponentially as I have seen him love me in the hard times and the good. 

And seeing me in Level 10 sickness and caring for me without complaint as he had to wipe my vomit off the floor. That is a real man. That is sacrificial Gospel love. That is better than the sweetest card or the most beautiful flowers. I hope that each of you get to experience that kind of love (maybe even without the food poisoning!).