October 16 2014

October 16 2014 Greetings My Friend, My balance issues have made me learn to do things differently and there are some things I can’t do at all. Learning a new way to do things really changes my perspective on “the way I have always….” As I do balance stretches I hang onto something and I find I can do the stretch and the balance still. Fatigue and congestion have taught me to slow down a ton and to work at a more measured pace. Fatigue has taught me to make up meals for a few days at a time and that way we can eat good meals more often than not. Moving and all the confusion has taught me to accept chaos to work through chaos and one day I find I can do more than I dreamed possible even with my limitations in life. At this point I need to remember I have not done this with my own power and initiative. My strength comes from God. I strive to take time to stop and to listen. In that quiet I find so many answers to my day to day dilemmas. With old age and with two progressive diseases I realize that new struggles will come. I can let them overtake me and bring me down to the pit or I can turn to God and ask for His strength to see me through each new challenge. As I think I’ve overcome and moved forward I am finding some new aches and pains. At present they are not huge pains but they let me know they are there and if I am not careful they will strive to overpower me. My hope is Jesus so as these new ache and pains try to overwhelm me I know that I am not alone fighting a new battle. Arthritis, Chiari and osteoporosis are the culprits that are toying with me at present. I am not sure the exact name of what is making me ache but I feel it. My shoulders and neck are tightening up to the point of “ow” pain. I feel tenderness at the bone level on my vertebrae as it goes down from my neck and beyond my shoulders. The last annoying discomfort is my ankle tries to speak irritation to me. All of this at present is more like that dull headache, it is there, it is uncomfortable and it is annoying more than huge amounts of pain. Today I choose to ask God what I need to do and many times I hear Him speak to me. I use the resistance bands for my neck and shoulder issues. I shrug my shoulders way up to my ears and release. These will settle things for a period of time. When it gets a bit worse a short sit with a neck pillow has helped. So I work through the discomfort and very rarely I find myself taking medication. Essential oils and supplements also seem to keep things at bay so I learn what I can and do what I am able to. Exercise helps too. Morning quiet time teaches me to connect with God to “tell” Him my struggles and somehow I am able to let them go and when things get hard to bear I “hear” His advice on my heart. I’ve hit 5,000 steps and now my goal is 6,000 steps. I feel muscles in my triceps and I pick up the resistance bands the light weights again today. In all of this I find I can and I do. Thank you Jesus. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet