Where were you guys?

Well, we were in ER for 8 hours! Yes, Jim and I spent 8 hours in the Round Rock ER on Sunday evening. Jim had a reaction to his new Crohn's medication. The ER doctor and nurses were almost certain it was a kidney stone, but Jim was just as certain that it was not. In the end, Jim was right. After four bags of whatever they put in your IV for re-hydration, a cat-scan, and tons of pain medication, the Doctors sent us home (with a prescription for more pain meds). We have no real answers, just know that Jim is not taking that medication EVER AGAIN! We were glad to learn that the cat-scan showed Jim's organs to be quite healthy. That's always good information. Crohn's is a disease that you can't always view the effects of with a cat-scan, so if it was a flare-up, we wouldn't see it from any scans other than a colonoscopy.
8 hours is a LONG time to spend in ER. They kept trying to rush things. Each time it looked like we were going to be able to check out, Jim's pain would intensify and we would ask for more pain medication. It makes you wonder what people did in "the old days" to handle pain. Jim's pain was so bad he was ready to punch holes in the walls.
But through it all, we felt the Lord's presence--even in our confusion and wondering why Jim has to go through this. A friend of our has Lou Gehrig's disease. I remember he and his wife at one point saying that people too often waste their suffering. I kept thinking of that while we were in the ER. "Lord, don't let us waster this suffering. Use it in whatever way you can, Father." At times the pain was so bad, the only thing he could say was "I can't do this, I can't do this!" I thought he was spilling out negative thoughts that were hindering him so I kept trying to change his thoughts, "Jim, the Lord will never give you more than you can handle." But I realized that Jim was crying out to God. He was begging God to ease his pain, to help him endure.
We have so much to learn about and through this disease. What is the Lord's purpose in all of this? How am I to view disease? You know, how do I view and handle all of this in a way that honors our Lord? There is just much to think deeply on and pray through right now.
Jim has been home from work for two days now and will go sit through a meeting tomorrow and then come home. We are so thankful to work for Safequip, the family business, and see the Lord's providence in this also.
Please pray for us and our family. I heard Elijah telling one of his friends the other day that his daddy is always sick, even when he feels good. Please pray the Lord would straighten out our thoughts regarding Jim's disease and help us to explain it to our children. May He be praised in our sufferings!
Believe it or not, we even got some crazy pictures in ER. We were severely bored at times!