Do not be anxious...

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phil. 4:6

After donating blood in February I found out I'm anemic. I've been wanting to donate again, but only if my blood was back to normal. So, now that I'm in Holland for 10 days, I figured I should get my blood checked (since laboratory results are not the most reliable in Freetown). Well, I'm still anemic and we are now trying to figure out the cause of the anemia. My mind automatically switches to doctor mode. I recall the three categories of causes: blood loss, faulty or decreased production, increased destruction. I look at my results and try to draw some conclusions.

Considering my eating habits in Salone (not always cooking, little meat due to electricity issues, poor variety of vegetables), some type (or combination) of deficiency seemed it would be the most likely cause. But surprise, my iron stores, vitamin B12 and folic acid are normal! In some ways that is good because I really did not tolerate the iron tablets well before, however, treatment would have been straightforward! Now we need to look further and I'm waiting for more results.

Am I worried? Only a little. Only because there is always a small chance that there might be a serious underlying cause and only because I am supposed to travel back to Sierra Leone on Saturday. To be honest, my guess is we may not find a cause. Besides feeling tired (and having lost a fair amount of weight) I feel fine. I also think that likely my hemoglobin was much lower a few months ago and I am hoping it's on the mend. I suppose it's the uncertainty that is worrying me and realizing that if I go back to SL and something goes wrong, I'm kind of stuck.

Although this is something small, it reminds me of how vulnerable all of us are. And it brings life into perspective. It makes me think of people I know who are fighting for their life and dealing with issues so much bigger than what I am facing. For all of you out there who feel like you are facing an impossible situation and do not quite know what tomorrow holds: Do not be anxious. Go to our Father. Trust in Him. He is Able.

I'll wait and see what the doctor says seeing as there's nothing I can do about any of this now anyway. In the meantime I will enjoy the rest of my time here. Today's plan is studying and then heading over to my sister's place to hang out with her and her family and celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday! Good times with family.