Pet Rocks - 11/6/2023

 

Went for a walk with my honey, Jamie Matthews today, thanks to the heart-felt motivation of Heather Roth!  So grateful .  It was 33 degrees & spiting snow but made 2 1/4 miles.  Thank you to those of you who are praying, as energy is a prime commodity on this journey.  Yes Heather is one of the people I asked you to prayer for.  Please continue to pray for Heather, Aubrey Fasulo & Anna Beck as they continue their health challenges and journey.  Yes you know, “LOVE THEM BEYOND WORMS!”  .  Below is the update I did a few days.  Hope you have a nice warm drink, as you step back into my journey through some scribed words. Love God’s sense of humor!  How can you practice gratitude & thanksgiving today?

Pet Rocks

Remember the fad of “Pet Rocks”?  As adorable as they were, I would not want to become one.  However it is fun to imagine the rocks with those sweet faces.  And today, to find a painted rock is a treasure. Thanks Tavia for the mission you started with yours and it is one of my treasures on the journey.  May we never become stone faces without praise & gratitude for our Lord & King, no matter where we are walking on our life’s journey.  I do caution you to remember that like Pet Rocks, gratitude & praise have many shades, tones, dimensions & faces, depending on where you are on your journey with Christ.  Remember that you are fearfully & wonderfully made in the image of Christ. 

Thank you again for your love, support, encouragement & prayers along this recent health detour.  At this time, I would like to apologize for being a little slow in getting this update done. It seems I was out of commission for awhile, but NOT decommissioned.  Although if I am honest,  in some moments in my mind it felt like I had been decommissioned.  We all have moments where it feels hard to embrace our limitations.    I have heard it said, that aging isn’t for wimps.  Well God’s Biblical perspective is a little different.   2 Corinthians 4:15-16 says, “For it is all for your sake, so that as graces extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.  So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”   Are you willing to let yourself be renewed even in your trials?  Experience again is a powerful teacher, “IF” we choose to let.  With my many adventures with health challenges throughout my life, I have found that my health issues are a time when God draws me nearer to Him for His Divine purposes & blessings.   A divine purpose that only the shadow of the valley of trials can yield.   Without these seasons, we would never understand or comprehend His divine blessings held within each them.  Will you praise Him in the storm? 

When I am forced to “be still before the Lord”, is when He teaches me only things that can be gleaned from a season sitting at the Master’s “feet”.   Believe me, when you have ADD it is quite a “feat” for Him to accomplish stillness in the heart, mind & soul especially when you are in pain.   It doesn’t matter what kind of pain… emotional, physical, spiritual, stillness is a monumental “feat” to achieve.  It seems that one letter in a word continues to make a HUGE difference...  “feet” or “feat”.  Hum, didn’t Miss Mulholland reinforce the usage homophones\homographs or wait was that diagraming sentences?   I had a strong adversion to diagramming sentences.  “Conjunction, junction what’s your function?”     School House Grammar Rock at its finest.  They should have come out with that earlier for me!  Come on now, everybody sing.

Things I have learned to ask and or say, when I am in the valley is, “What are you trying to teach me while I am here Lord?”  The sooner you ask this question, the better off you will be.

Also, “Lord, give me the strength to go through this trial in ‘Your Power’, as I am acutely aware that mine is not enough.”   Funny how pain brings that to the forefront of our minds.  Sadly there are still times, that He needs to make me extremely aware of this.  The only way He can do that is to bring me to the end of “myself”.  Well there is a deep subject.  Yes, the pun was intended. 

As His word promises and I have experienced, that when needed, He carries me with His Righteous Right Hand.  He also truly goes before us at times to make a way…. especially when I think I am stronger than I truly am.   This last bout with my back was one of those times for me. 

Jamie & I “face-time” (video chat) each night to do our devotions when he is away.  If any of you have had back issues, you know that by the end of the day is when you are at your absolute worst.  You lose the ability to hide it well, even if you are trying to be strong for someone you love.    A few days after my back had gone on vacation, he found out that the boat was going to be sailing to Newfoundland & he did not feel he should be that far away.  Therefore, he told me he would be home Sunday night instead of sailing to Newfoundland.  I asked Jamie if he was sure he wanted to do that and he reinforced that he’d never been surer of anything in his life.  Honestly, even after that conversation I wrestled with this.  You see you never want to feel you are a burden to those you love.  I specifically went straight to God to talk about this.  In all my infinite wisdom, I actually dared to tell God what I thought He should do.   Have you ever done that before?  How did that work for you?  They say that if you want to hear God laugh, just tell him your plans.  And I also like to say that sometimes He makes you laugh.  I love God’s sense of humor.  As you have heard me share before, God never answers our prayers or requests in the ways we expect but He always answers them in the way that is best for all involved.  Think about that for a minute 

My conversation went like this, “Lord don’t you think he should stay on the boat to work?   I think I could do this for the next week myself, don’t you?  Maybe you should talk to him and ask him not to come home.” 

God’s answer was, stark, enunciated clearly and immediate, but delivered with a touch of His Divine, Holy Humor.  God’s response was, “You are NOT the ONLY ONE that I talk to Paulette!!!”   I laughed aloud & trust me it REALLY hurt to laugh, at that point in time.  Honestly, I think God intended it that way so He’d have command of my full attention with His definitive response.   That was Thursday night & by the time Jamie came home that Sunday night, I was like an elated  flea looking for a home who had just spotted a cat for my winters home. There was also a huge mixture of relief in my emotions.   He swooped in & took over everything I didn’t have the energy or strength to accomplish.  He also did what he knew I should NOT be doing.   You know how we all LOVE to be told what to do.   Well the Captain of the ship took over home mixed with his gentle, kind, ways.   It seems that he himself having had back issues before, had yeilded some valuable lessons of how to take care of me thorough manner.  Imagine all this time,  the Lord knew the multifaceted blessing of having Jamie home was exactly what I needed, in order to start allowing my back to heal.  Guess what, His timing was perfect too!  As the days passed I realized just how “profoundly right” God was yet again.  Hum, I think I am finally starting to see a pattern in this area, after 34 years of attempting to live for the Lord.   When God gives you a blessing, don’t question Him and be willing to receive.  Oh that humility concept can often intercept our ability to receive.  It’s all about trusting that God really does know what He is doing and that His Will, His Way & His timing are perfect.  Can I hear an AMEN?! 

My other praise offering is that my x-rays came back & that I have “degenerative disc disease”.  You may ask why is this a praise?    Well my x-rays did NOT say that I had another fractured bone or that it was more cancer spreading within my bones!  It truly is all in your perspective or should I say in trying to preceive God’s perspective.  At this time, having this knowledge of the degenerative disc disease has also freed me mentally, from stepping into any traditional treatments offered to me.  You see this situation with my back is part of the consequences of having gone through conventional treatment protocols ten years ago.  I continue to work with H4C, my family GP, my natural-path & with my oncologist.  At my request, my oncologist graciously ordered BW for me, as I hadn’t been feeling well off & on for some time.   Another praise offering is that my BW results came out good.   Apparently my diet from H4C has been working.  The issue that I need prayer for is my present fatigue level,  In truth it has been strong these days.   

Next praise offering is that God is so amazingly faithful, as I am NO longer on any either of the medications now, that I was given to tolerate the pain.   I also no longer need to wear my back-brace.  The prescription medication let me do a good impression of “Cheech and Chong”.  I was stoned & had the munchies.  I raided things in the middle of the night!  For awhile I sat in Jamie’s chair & ate some chips during the wee hours.  That way if he discovered crumbs, he would think they were his.    Betty, I thoroughly enjoyed all the folded chips too!   With my pharamacists’ valued input & my total agreement, I chose to only take the prescription medication at bed time, as I wanted to be alert during the day.  The tools are in the toolbox if I need them.  I now know of a lower dose that I can request, should need be again.  That might also be a lot easier on our “chip”grocery bill.  Also want to say that I am so very grateful for God’s for wisdom, mercy & grace mixed with humor. 

My naturopathic doctor also gave me something new to try that is suppose to retrain my cancer cells to behave like healthy cells.  We did learn about some aspects of this at H4C too.  When teaching, I learned that it takes 20 days for a habit to form.  Maybe this concept applies to this medication, as I am taking it for 21 days.  My next consult is with him on Dec. 5th. 

Bible verse:  “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  Luke 19:40 NIV

So let’s not let those “Pet Rocks” come to life!  Gratitude equals a more positive perspective.  I am grateful for the love, support & prayers of each of you.  Thankful for my church family, my family & friends that God has placed in my life who walk this journey with me in the ways God speaks into their lives.  Each of you know who you are.  I am humbled & blessed beyond measure.