Perfect Peace
Such a treat to have these two here, from Tampa,
helping taking care of me and giving Betty Ashton a break last weekend.
October 7
Today's CTscan with contrast was interesting. The gentleman administering the IV (no it was not Kevin) said, "You will get a metallic taste in your mouth, the smell of alcohol in your nose and then the sensation that you are peeing all over yourself." Whatever look I flashed him had him quickly respond..."But you aren't." I wanted to rush right to a bathroom, but I was already plugged in.
Every prediction he made came true. Immediately, I began praying for people going through chemo.
When I checked in at registration the lady laughed as she typed in my information. "I just entered that you speak Chinese." I was tempted to say, "Oh, no, the only language other than English is my prayer language!" :-)
My therapist, Barbee, is so knowledgable. I really enjoy hanging out with her. Today she asked where I'd seen improvements; balance and leg strength are the biggies this week. Then I shared my greatest area of frustration was the lack of stamina. This morning at 7:30 I told my daughter I was taking myself for a walk. The first 12 minutes were great and felt almost normal. Turning around and heading back I achieved a turtle's pace and seemed to be dragging my left leg behind me. Barbee explained that stamina will be the last thing to get back and to not get discouraged. She said, "Give yourself pep talks and instead of looking at where you were before the stroke, look at where you've come since the stroke." Great advice. Then she belted me up and drug my body outside and challenged me to walk down and back up a very bumpy grassy slope. Huge achievement. I really think I could make it to our dock and back! (Maybe a little siesta on a lounge chair in between.)
Looking back to last weekend when Jordon and Lauren were here.
Today's CTscan with contrast was interesting. The gentleman administering the IV (no it was not Kevin) said, "You will get a metallic taste in your mouth, the smell of alcohol in your nose and then the sensation that you are peeing all over yourself." Whatever look I flashed him had him quickly respond..."But you aren't." I wanted to rush right to a bathroom, but I was already plugged in.
Every prediction he made came true. Immediately, I began praying for people going through chemo.
When I checked in at registration the lady laughed as she typed in my information. "I just entered that you speak Chinese." I was tempted to say, "Oh, no, the only language other than English is my prayer language!" :-)
My therapist, Barbee, is so knowledgable. I really enjoy hanging out with her. Today she asked where I'd seen improvements; balance and leg strength are the biggies this week. Then I shared my greatest area of frustration was the lack of stamina. This morning at 7:30 I told my daughter I was taking myself for a walk. The first 12 minutes were great and felt almost normal. Turning around and heading back I achieved a turtle's pace and seemed to be dragging my left leg behind me. Barbee explained that stamina will be the last thing to get back and to not get discouraged. She said, "Give yourself pep talks and instead of looking at where you were before the stroke, look at where you've come since the stroke." Great advice. Then she belted me up and drug my body outside and challenged me to walk down and back up a very bumpy grassy slope. Huge achievement. I really think I could make it to our dock and back! (Maybe a little siesta on a lounge chair in between.)
Looking back to last weekend when Jordon and Lauren were here.
We laugh, twice a day the question has rung out..."Whose going to walk Mom?" Like, "Whose walking the dog today?" One morning our son and my husband took me to walk inside the exquisite Green Hills Mall shops before opening. We made our lap around the lower level and were going to attempt the second level, but the escalators had not been turned on. Steps are probably my greatest obstacle at this point. Looking up at that escalator seemed like an impossibility and was so representative of the multitude of challenges we face in life. A quick reflection back, that three and half weeks ago moving anything on my left side seemed like an impossibility, put the challenge in perspective.
Paul David Tripp wrote on his October 3rd devotional: "You don't have to understand everything in your life, because your Lord of wisdom and grace understands it all."
Sunday night I said to my son, "It's hard to believe I've lost three weeks of my life." What a false statement. These days have not been lost. My life has been enriched from this journey.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:3-4
Tripp writes concerning this verse: "This passage tells us where peace is to be found. It is never found in trying to figure out the secret will of God...Peace is found in trusting the person who controls all things that you don't understand and who knows no mystery because he has planned it all. How do you experience this remarkable peace-the kind of peace that doesn't fade away when disappointments come, when people are difficult, or when circumstances are hard? You experience it by keeping your mind stayed on the Lord. The more you meditate on his glory, his power, his wisdom, his grace, his faithfulness, his righteousness, his patience, his zeal to redeem, and his commitment to his eternal promises to you, the more you can deal with mystery in your life."
Don't you just love that!!!!
Paul David Tripp wrote on his October 3rd devotional: "You don't have to understand everything in your life, because your Lord of wisdom and grace understands it all."
Sunday night I said to my son, "It's hard to believe I've lost three weeks of my life." What a false statement. These days have not been lost. My life has been enriched from this journey.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:3-4
Tripp writes concerning this verse: "This passage tells us where peace is to be found. It is never found in trying to figure out the secret will of God...Peace is found in trusting the person who controls all things that you don't understand and who knows no mystery because he has planned it all. How do you experience this remarkable peace-the kind of peace that doesn't fade away when disappointments come, when people are difficult, or when circumstances are hard? You experience it by keeping your mind stayed on the Lord. The more you meditate on his glory, his power, his wisdom, his grace, his faithfulness, his righteousness, his patience, his zeal to redeem, and his commitment to his eternal promises to you, the more you can deal with mystery in your life."
Don't you just love that!!!!
