Back from Class

I'm considering going to a seminar tonight on back pain and care. I've pretty much concluded that my poor crooked spine is beyond any natural help, but will see what tips they might have for me. I'll report later when I get back what I learn from the meeting. (On a side note, it's a way I can get out of the house by myself, since my nephew is here for Dean.)

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OK, back from the "back class". I will have to amend my previous statement about my crooked back. The ONLY help I have for my crookedness is natural. Particularly, exercise and diet. Which I'm always trying to improve anyway. This meeting just gave me some motivation to keep trying. I value that more than the information that was presented.

This emphasized to me that I must work on my witnessing style too. I have to work on not just giving out information. That's not what people are looking for. Most people don't need information as much as they need inspiration and motivation, powered by a genuine caring spirit.

Lord, please help me to attract others to you with bonds of your heavenly love.

That Grand Reunion

It's been a year and a half since I lost both my parents to cancer. So many family milestones they've missed. Some good, some not-so-good. They both live on in our memories though. And also in the values and spiritual legacy they left for us.

I still have boxes of their papers, etc. to sort through, but just don't have the heart for it yet. Maybe someday when I'm in a real cleaning frenzy, I'll tackle it again. For now, I have two pieces of furniture that are daily reminders of their love and influence.

One, the dining room hutch, was my mom's pride and glory. It matches the table that she gave me several years ago when Dad took over her dining room and needed to set up his computer. She loved this dining room set and when I think about it, it's the first nice one she had. After forty years of marriage, you can understand her pride and joy in it. She hated to separate the set, but now they are together in my home. So, that's my reminder of Mom.

The computer desk is not an expensive one, but Dad loved his computers and the way they let him stay connected to his loved ones. It was in the only room in the house that Mom turned over to him for all his collections. I think of all the hours I spent emailing, then messaging, and finally video-chatting with Dad in his last years.

I can't bring them back, but so long as I have their memory, even without the physical reminders, I am blessed. They are resting in the grave until our grand family reunion in the sky!

The Captain

I think I'm going to have to place myself as Captain of the Patches. Dean got some pain patches from the doctor to wear over his cracked ribs, but he's supposed to have the patch on twelve hours and off twelve hours. We are already off schedule because he put one on today when I wasn't looking and it wasn't time yet. Hmm, what am I going with that man? I know, hide the patches!

Are there things in my life I should be hiding from me? Of course, food items first come to mind. If only someone would hide certain foods from me in the grocery store. But no, God grants me the power of choice and as long as I'm capable of making those choices, I will be responsible for staying away from those temptations.

But God doesn't leave us to face them alone. He's just a prayer away. I think He'd even help hide them if we asked. Lord, be Captain of My Temptations.

Garden In

Today was garden planting day. My nephew didn't have to go to his job today, so guess what--it was the perfect day to be out there breaking up soil and getting the garden in. It was partly cloudy, in the 70s, with rain in the forecast tonight. Perfect time to get it done.

There are so many spiritual illustrations and real life applications when it comes to a garden, that I hardly know which one to pursue. Perhaps my nephew expressed it best though when he was all done planting and said, "Well, it's up to God now, Aunt Teresa." I think we all recognize that without God nothing good would be happening in our lives.

Our work, hard as it may be, is worthless without God's blessing. No vegetables are sweeter than those we've partnered with God to produce.

Cracked Ribs

Yesterday was Dean's fifth fall this month. He just fell in the house this time. But after X-rays, we find out he has cracked ribs from it. I hope the pain patch gives him some relief from the pain tonight. I should have listened to him better and knew that the ribs were cracked. He kept saying they were, but I thought they must just be bruised. He didn't fall that hard.

I'm so glad we have a God who knows just how much pain we endure and how serious our injuries are. He knows us better than we do. He also knows how much pain is too much, and has promised not to give us more than we can endure.

I've often said that my man was made of iron to have gone through so much. But even iron rusts out eventually. We're starting to see some rust in this buggy.

Patience

This morning I told my husband not to forget his cane, which was by the door he was about to go out of to catch his ride to his adult day program. A couple of minutes later, he heads out the door when the van pulled up. As soon as they drive away, I notice the cane still where he left it.

There is very little I can count on him to remember these days. Consequently, I have to be constantly vigilant for both of us, not to forget even the simplest of things. I should be used to this responsibility after twelve years, but things are getting worse it seems. Aging is not friendly to those with brain injury, I've been told. And it isn't a bowl of cherries for the caregiver either.

I know that parents must be ever watchful for their children, especially when they are very young. But it's just not natural to be a parent to your spouse. If you think teenagers are difficult, because they are older, try managing a 60+ year-old. You will know real frustration. But you will also learn real patience.

Maybe that's what these elderly men and women are here for. To develop our patience. I thought I learned it all in raising our daughter, but I'm getting a refresher course. I think I'm at the graduate level courses by now.

I remember a quote that said, "Patience with others is love. Patience with self is hope. Patience with God is faith." If that's the case, pile it on, Lord! Give me patience.