It Happened One Morning

Almost in slow motion, the scene played out before me.  A dog shooting across the road right in front of our car!  There was no time to stop before I heard a thud and knew the worst!  How awful to hit a dog!  Someone's pet? So sad.  It wouldn't have happened in town, where there are restrictions against dogs running freely.  But we were on the highway headed to do early-morning farm chores before Howard's medical test at the hospital.

Still shaken, we unlocked the gate and Howard began to feed the chickens, his pride and joy. He  opened the door to their shed, and they spilled out like a golden horde, fluttering, half-flying and eagerly scratching the soil in the morning sun.  It was pretty chilly out, so I waited in the car, viewing the vignette through the windshield.  That would make a cute video, I thought.

Then Howard walked away to tend the goats and pigs. By this time the flock had started to disperse, but I was intent on getting shots of them in their excitement.  A few minutes later, I put the camera phone down to see my farmer husband putting feed over the fence to the pigs.  Something about his stance made me wonder if he was feeling alright.

"I thought you would've at least come and helped me up!" he frowned as he got in the car.  What?  Then he told me he had fallen!  He had tripped on a root or something moments before when my eyes were on the video I was making!  He said he was lying there thinking I would be fluttering over him with alarm and concern any minute!  Thankfully he was okay, but a little unnerved at two accidents in one morning.  And he still had to report for the stress test!

The first part of the test was mild, and I was with him for that, but I couldn't go into the rest of it for over an hour.  He was feeling a little rough, but still chatting bravely to the attendant when I went in.  He told me later he had them and the doctor laughing when he told them his favorite doctor story.

It seems that years ago when Howard was an associate pastor at a large church in Wichita, he was making hospital calls one day.  On every floor, he met a well-dressed man walking the hall with an accordion on his chest.  After seeing him for the  third time, Howard asked him if he might be a pastor.  "No," the man said, "I'm a doctor.  I operate on the patient one day, and the next day I sing to them!"

Having had no breakfast, we were famished by noon when the test was over.  Howard was feeling better by then and we had a hearty lunch, followed by a quiet afternoon.  We'd had enough excitement for one day.  The test results will come in a couple of days, but we are believing God for a good report!