Keeping Me Breathing

Every morning around 7:00 a.m., my phone rings. And every morning, I know that it is my friend Debbie calling. And every morning, I know that she is calling for one purpose. She is calling to check on me, to ask how I'm feeling, to make sure I'm still breathing. I quite affectionately call Debbie my "kick the bucket" friend; if I do ... kick the bucket in the night, that is ... Debbie will be certain that I'm taken care of right away, and equally important, that my dogs are protected and looked after.

Dee Dee is my friend who has a key to my house and whom I've taught everything to do to help me when my blood sugar drops into the danger zone. She knows how to stick my finger, knows when I need juice or glucose pills, knows how often and how much I need to eat. When I first taught Dee Dee how to check my blood sugar, I remember saying, "Hopefully, you'll never have to do this." Those were famous last words, I suppose, since she has had to do just that more than once.

I've been having some issues with the signal on my phone recently, and a couple of weeks ago, my phone rang about 7:10, and it was Debbie. She quickly said in a loud voice, "Why didn't you answer your phone?" I replied that my phone didn't ring until just then, and she informed me that she had called at least eight times since 7:00. And then, without missing a beat, she said, "You were down to 60 seconds." "60 seconds for what?" I asked. "60 seconds until I called Dee Dee to come to your house." She then proceeded to let me know that I have 10 minutes to answer my phone when she calls, and if I don't answer within my allotted time, she will call Dee Dee to come and check on me since she lives nearby.

I never asked Debbie to start her morning routine of calling ... she decided on her own that she would make those calls, and she made that decision out of love for me. And Dee Dee was the one who asked me to teach her what she needed to know to help me, because she loves me. Both of these dear friends, along with many other friends and family, know me well enough to know that I'm not good about asking for help and that I'm fiercely independent. They know me well enough to step in when I need it, to back off when I don't, and to love me through it all.

In thinking about the commitment and the loyalty and the love that the people in my life graciously bestow upon me every single day, I can't help but think about how much more God is committed to me ... how His love and loyalty never wavers ... how He calls me every morning ... how He always knows what to do to help me ... how He desperately wants to hold the key to my heart. 

Thank you, Father, for blessing me with friends, with family, with love. Thank you, Father, for giving me life, for loving me through it all, for keeping me breathing. Thank you.