X Marks the Spot\Spots - 07/23/2024

 

“X Marks the Spot\Spots” Spots, spots everywhere…

How many of you have ever read some Dr. Suess books?  How many of you enjoyed them as a child and then passed the love of his books onto your children & grandchildren?  One of my personal favorites was “Horton Hears a Who”.   “A person is a person no matter how small.”  My Mom use to take me to the library to sign this one out, until one day when I was given my own copy.   The pages were well worn in my book.   As an adult I realized that a lot of other people must have loved this book too, as they even turned it into a movie.  Yes, I watched the movie… well, more than once.    As I wrote this first paragraph I thought, shouldn’t the pages of our Bibles be as careworn as the pages of those beloved children’s stories we used to read?  We are God’s children after all and He has left us the ultimate book of all time.

One day, I was paid one of the highest complements an elementary teacher can receive.  Remember it’s all in your perspective.   What a blessing & privilege to have glimpses of a child’s perspective.  I had worn one of my favorite soft, multi-shaded, gray\brown sweaters to school that day.  One of my younger elementary students stopped and said, “Oh Mrs. Matthews you look just like one of the monkeys in the movie, ‘Horton Hears a Who’!”  This was exclaimed with great joy and a huge smile on my student’s face.  They were sincerely complementing my attire.  Have you looked in the mirror today?  Just sayin’.   Yes, I still have that sweater & wear it with this special memory sealed in my heart.   

I had read this story to my students & I even had the stuffed animal of Horton in my classroom.  Actually I had many stuffed animals from past childhood authors.  Kohl’s stores used to have some of these books for $5 & the stuffed animal for $5.   Each time one came out, I often purchased the book & the stuffed animal for my classroom (and of course for my grandchildren too).  Let’s just say that they were a big hit.   What does all this have to do with spots you might ask?  Hum, which childhood book talked a lot about spots? Hint they were different colored spots.  I’ll give you some time to think about that.  Patty McIntyre Whitman, I KNOW you know. 

Do you have your hiking shoes on today?  If you don’t you may want to go put them on, because we might go down a side\rabbit trail. Don’t forget your bottle of water,  just incase you get thirsty.  As you know with me, my ADD & memory lane, we will probably go on a few of these trails.  After all we were just in the jungle with the Wickersham Brothers.  You know the monkeys in “Horton Hears a Who”.   Did you remember their occupations were to be the Sour Kangaroo’s Henchmen?     

How many of you believe that you should tell someone the truth?  Well the Bible definitely stands on the side of truth.   

“Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are His delight.  Proverbs 12:22

How many of you have told “little white lies”?  We’ve all probably heard that expression before.  The question is aren’t we all guilty of this at times?  We think we are helping someone or even protecting them so we tell that “little white lie”.  Yet God tells us in John 8:32 : “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  All the same, at times isn’t it hardest to tell those we love the truth.  Well here is the story of how my daughter, Lindsay, in a really awkward situation, told me the truth.  It did indeed set me free from a lot of embarrassment.  If the truth be told maybe some for her too.

Have you ever seen this emoji before ?  Let’s take a really good look at it everyone.   Remember it’s all in your perspective.  If no one had told you, when you were new to technology, what might you have thought it was?  Remember it has a smile on its cute little face too.  Well when I was brand new to technology, let’s say in nursery school… 

It was actually my granddaughter & daughter who encouraged me to get an iPod Touch.  My granddaughter completely sold me on getting it when she said, “Nana if you get it,  you can just touch a button & we will be able to see each other & talk anytime we want to.”  As I lived in New Brunswick & she in Kansas you can imagine I was immediately SOLD on the idea!  I mean come on, to instantly be able to see & talk to my grandkids.  Poor Lindsay had her hands full trying to teach me how to even begin to use the iPod Touch at all, before I left to go home to Canada.  Add me in for being her third child at this point in time, but at least I did help with laundry & cleaning the kitchen though.

After a few months of me being let loose to use this new fangled gadget, Lindsay texted me a message and asked, “Mom why to do you always send this emoji, each time you text message one of us?”

I innocently replied, “Because I am sending everyone a ‘chocolate kiss’ when I message them.”  Notice, I said everyone.  Oh how I would have loved to have been there to have seen her face, as she read my response.    We adults can embarrass our children.  Maybe it’s all part of a payback plan from when they were young. 

Come on you guys,  Hershey’s Kisses were a treat I’d loved my whole life.  As a matter of fact, I have some in the freezer.  Truth be told, I am eating one right now.  How many of you ever got a GIANT Hershey’s Kiss?  That was a big deal & was given with love.  After all you could purchase them around Valentine’s Day, so they were all about the love.   

Now stop & imagine my shock, when my daughter texted me and responded by saying, “Mom, it isn’t a chocolate kiss.  It’s POOP. ”   Seriously, do I hear you laughing at me right now?  Well honestly, I would have also loved to have seen my own face, when I read her text message!    So much for the concept that  I was just sending my love with a chocolate kiss.  Or so I had thought.     Then my mind spiralled, as I began to process how many people I had sent the POOP  emojis to.   I wonder what they thought??  If you were one of those recipients, I humbly apologize.  Wait maybe you didn’t know what they were either?  Well if you did, then why DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?!?!

Tell me now, do you think it might better to tell someone you love the truth.  Perhaps even a stranger.  You know like, “Your fly is down.”  After all, it could be you.   Shouldn’t that be the way with sharing our faith too, like Jilana Daley did Sunday?  It took extraordinary courage.  Only God will know the full impact of what sharing her testimony did.  Let’s just say my eyes leaked during her powerful testimony and it deeply touched my heart so.  Could you be passing on Christ-like love by being truthful,  steadfast in your faith and sharing your testimony?  Is there something that you need to tell someone you love today?  Or maybe a stranger that God places in your path today. 

“We have nothing to give of value, but He asks us to tell others about Him.  Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, who He has redeemed from trouble.  Psalm 107:2  Our trials can become our testimonies.

I am happy to say that I use the  emoji correctly now.  Yes, you read it right.  I do still use this emoji today.  Some of you who have received it know that it has been used with a touch humor, as I am referring to, “The Bottom’s Up Cafe”.  .   If you don’t know what that is, you need to go back & read my past posts.  Cheers and Bottom’s Up if you do.   By the grace of God, humor does prevail in my world a lot of the time.  For those who are in the know, I get my caffiene twice a week and I highly recommend how I get it.  Though I haven’t had any takers yet. Dang that was a fun rabbit trail now wasn’t it.  Did you know rabbits can leave a trail of small .  You’d better check the bottom of your sneakers again now.

Have you remembered what childhood book mentioned lots of spots?  Hum I’ll give you a hint.   One word in the title is “Zoo”. Isn’t this fun?  I’ve taken you from a jungle in “Horton Hears a Who” to a Zoo now.  By the way zoo’s can have lots of  too.  So you’d better check your sneakers at the end of this again. 

Sometimes when your floor isn’t looking it’s best, have you ever just wanted to spot clean it instead of scrubbing the whole thing?  It can be a challenge to accomplish this.  Sometimes I wonder if it takes more time & energy to do this.  You think you see a spot, then you go to wipe it up and as you approach the spot the reflection of the light has changed so you can’t find it.  It can be a task in frustration.  God doesn’t spot clean us either.  He gives us the offer of complete salvation all at once.

Just incase there are a few who haven’t guessed the name of the childhood book that included ‘lots of spots’ …well it is, “Put Me in the Zoo”  by Robert Lopshire.                                                                             

So what do spots have to do with me you ask?  July 9th when I received my injection that I get every 4 weeks, as part of my oncologist’s plan of action, I had a variety of reactions to it.   It included many spreading, itchy spots.  You know the itches you aren’t supposed to scratch.  Well it was also the itch that I couldn’t reach accurately with the cream.  Do you remember getting hives as a kid.  How about when your mother used Calamine lotion to bring you relief.  Oh cotton balls and that pink lotion brought lots of relief from hives when I was kid!  Several days after my injection I contacted my extra mural nurse and she recommended two creams and to talk to my pharmacist.  She is a great part of my health care team & offers good perspective.  My nurses next visit she took my list of reactions & sent it off to my oncologist.  Well it became Jamie’s  mission to find all my spots & apply one of the two creams that my nurse and pharmacist thought might bring me relief over the weekend.  Why did Jamie get the job of putting cream on my spots\rashes.   My shots are given in the muscle in the butt area so of course that is where my spots\rash showed up.  One side looked different than the other.  Who knew the right side would react differently than my left side.  I was thankful that the left side wasn’t shingles as it kept spreading.  My left side was like a rabbit trail; my right side was a big welt\hive that kept spreading and then came the added bonus of a rash at the base my spine area.  It seems I am reacting from the inside out since the injections,  so Benadryl is being taken orally as needed too.  What makes a rash worse?  …well heat sometimes does.  I don’t know how to keep my butt cool while I sit on it, but at least I am not hot under the collar (for the most part) while going through my various reactions.  I have considered a job at the zoo to entertain people, but my spots don’t come off so I can’t juggle them, as is suggested in the book, “Put Me in the Zoo.”   I do sometimes feel like I am part of a three ring circus that the book did introduce.  As the Bible says, I am fearfully & wonderfully made by God and in the image of God.  No wonder God never sleeps.  He’s up scratching all night long!  Seriously, He is itching to help us.  So let’s start from scratch where we need to with God.  There is no amount of Calamine lotion to cover this.  For we have an itch that only God can satisfy.  God rejoices in us.  As crazy as my life is He still rejoices in me.   I like to think that at times, I might bring Him some entertainment, laughter & and unique brand of joy.  Speaking of joy we received an unexpected phone call from a dear Friend Bryan Clouser, who we met at Hope 4 Cancer and his beautiful significant other Anna's Journey who has gone to be with the Lord.   It was an awesome surprise to hear Bryan’s voice this evening.  We love you Bryan and I am still looking forward to our next dance.   

Thank you again for your love, support & prayers.  I would appreciate prayers for my appointment with my oncologist on this Tuesday, JULY 30th.  I need divine wisdom & discernment as we discuss my various reactions to my last injection from headaches, joint pain, nausea to my various rashes etc.  Only God knows the plan of action that He has in place for me, but I do know that it does take divine wisdom to hear His voice the loudest on this journey.  Maybe because I talk too much.  I know Jamie would agree with that and probably Bryan after I chatted his ear of for over 45 minutes.  Oh wait that is a subject for another day, if you’ve made it this far reading my update this time.  Anyway, if the past medical testing pattern follows suit, there will be blood work on Tuesday, a new CT Scan & Bone Scan within the next month or so.  We’d appreciate your prayers for these too.  The bone scan is the one time I don’t want a “glowing report”!

Just incase you were wondering, Jamie is still apply the creams as necessary but less frequently now.  He also continues to be a wonderful care-giver who even brews my weekly swamp-water tea (Essiac) and my special coffee for the “Bottom’s Up Cafe”.  He even continues to set up my cot for my bi-weekly coffee event.  Always love his grin when he says, “Have a good time.”  We continue to smile & make our way as we move forward with the Lord as our guide.  I am very blessed in that God has continued to answer my prayers regarding the pain.  Last month, I asked my nurse once, “I shouldn’t be feeling this good should I?”  She smile and said, “No”.  Never jinx yourself like that!  The variety of reactions to my last injection this month did send me for a loop.  So thankful we made it to enjoy time at our lovely family Lake House.  Incase you can’t tell by my update regarding the journey, there is the joy of the Lord & laughter in our home.  Can you imagine living with me???  Maybe Jamie prayed for patience when he was young.    Be CAREFUL what YOU pray for.  Sadly my birth predated “warning labels”. 

My love, HUGS & prayers to you each.  May God continue to bless you all in the ways you need.  We have not because we ask not.  Talk to God, as He’ll be up all night anyway