"The Little Train That Could"

     Do you remember sitting "Indian Style" in preschool and early elementary grades and hearing the teacher read the story of "The Little Train That Could"?  I remember hearing the story over and over...and always picturing the scene from "Dumbo", where the circus train is pulling all of the cargo up the big hill/mountain in the rain...chanting to himself "I think I can, I think I can" over and over with a strained face until he finally makes it over the top and changes his tune to "I thought I could, I thought I could".  His face turns into a nice smug smile.  Even to this day, I still root him on!
 
     Well, every morning, for the past 4 1/2 years, I have felt like this little train when getting out of bed and when I do get out of bed.  I may not be pulling a lot of cargo, circus animals, or doing it out in the cold rain...but, boy do I feel like it!  
 
     Before I go to bed, I stretch out my muscles to help them relax, to help calm down the pain some.  In the morning...my body is tight and hurting!  The last thing I want to do is get out of bed.   On one hand it would be easier to just stay in bed and sleep off the pain, all day long.  Or, on the other hand, I could just deal with the pain since I will be hurting anyways, stretch out my muscles, help my family get off to where they need to be...
 
     I decide to follow what Phil 4:13 says: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  I get up.  Even if I stay in bed, I am going to hurt.  If I get up, I am going to hurt.  If I can breathe, then it is going to be a good day, a great day.
 
     Once I am up, I make sure I take a shower and get dressed, just like I would if I wasn't dealing with all of this pain.  By getting out of my PJs, I feel like I have accomplished something, that I can still take on the world.  Some days, this may be all that I do, while on others, running an errand may be all I can do.  I do feel better by getting up as I am moving about and remembering "I think I can, I think I can..."
 
     Why not enjoy life and hurt at the same time?  Get up out of bed or off of the couch or out of the chair, get dressed (dress in your Sunday best if you want to!), and enjoy the air that you can breathe in...at that very moment.  It is a gift that God has given you as, along with the strength to make it thru that moment.

Making it Over the Mountain

     Our family lives here in North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Yeah, they can be beautiful...at times.  Other times, not so much.  For instance, in the fall and winter time...they look dreary as the trees are...well, ugly.  No leaves.  Just dreary!  But in the spring and summer, they look nice.  So full of color and birds and blooms.  Beautiful!
     Another reason the mountains can NOT be nice is when your driving, biking, or walking them.  Up and down and up again for a long stretch, then finally down again.  This truly makes me miss the flat roads of Florida.

Hanukkah 3:19 says: 

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like feet of a deer;

He enables me to tread on heights.". (NIV)

     When I first read this verse about 10 years ago, all I could picture was a scene from the Walt Disney classic Bambi.  Bambi is trying to run from the forest fire and is trying to get over a rock wall, when his father, the King of the forest, comes over and starts to push him up over the wall. 

This verse came to me several months after my health issues started as...well, a reminder. 

*I could stand before my rock wall (the health issues) and just stand there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do, and be engulfed by my thoughts, feelings, and most of all...the sadness of what was happening.
OR

* I could call on my Savior to get me over this rock wall, no matter how tall, rugged, or excruciating it is and trust in Him that the other side is just like how He planned it to be.
 
     So, I did what I needed to do: pray and asked for prayers.
 
     As sufferers of chronic health issues, we need to be in prayer... a lot!  By being in prayer, our thoughts are preoccupied.  Our thoughts are not just focusing on our pain, our situation...it is focusing on God and who He is.
     In the beginning, I was in constant prayer for myself.  Asking God to help me deal with all of the pain, for it to stop.  Then as time went on, I prayed for God to help me be the wife and mom I needed to be, to be the daughter & in law I needed to be.  To be good with the grocery budget.  To be a friend to my friends. 
     As time went on, my prayers began to be focused on others and less on me.  By having my thoughts focused on other things, my mind wasn't focusing on my pain, weakness, and my sorrows.  I was able to keep myself distracted and learn to see the beauty of the world, even when in pain.  I also kept a prayer journal & would write my prayers down either every day or every so often.  By writing down my prayers, I could go back & read the prayers & see all that God had done for me, my family, and loved ones.
 
     I had a handful of close-friends that became my prayer group.  They were the ones that I could share my heart, my tears with.  I knew that if I called, emailed, or texted them, they would be down on their knees praying for me & my family.  I encourage everyone to have this small group of close-friends as it truly will help.  Plus, if you need to talk about your health, you don't have to go into detail about everything, as they already know it.
     I know that not everyone has some kind of chronic health issue and I praise God that you don't.  As a friend or loved one of someone that is dealing with it, you as well can be praying.
Pray not only for healing, but for the person to see the "little things" in life, to make it thru the day,...anything.  As time goes on, God will give you what you need to be praying about for your friend or loved one.  This is truly one of the best ways that you can show your love & support...over & over.