Yesterday one of my girls flew past me and dropped something on the counter. "Here's the glove, mom!" she yelled, not skipping a beat and racing out the back door. I was in the middle of cooking dinner and looked over. Then I had to sigh. This was the same glove she had asked me to get for her yesterday. It was a winter glove already packed away in the basement for the season. She wanted to use it to dig in the dirt. I had told her then that she would have to put it up after she used it. Rather than just put the glove back where it belonged, "Here's the glove, Mom," apparently was her way of trying to get me to do it for her. I poked my head out the door (and for what seemed like an eternity) nagged and eventually threatened discipline on her until she finally put it away. Yes it seems like an awfully big deal over a little glove. It would have been SO much easier just to take care of it myself, but it was the principle of the matter. I thought to myself, "What do I need to do to empower my children to take care of their things, to be proactive and think ahead about things. Then I had a revelation.
How much am I (and many people) like that? How often do we not just want to pray and all of our messes, chores, and problems just be cleaned up for us.
That day I had been to the doctor and had a bone density test done. The doctor said I have the bone density of someone in their 50's and a condition called ostepenia which is a precursor to osteoporosis. My hip is the worst area. She said I'd be heading for a hip fracture if I didn't do something soon and she put me on Boniva. Apparently the chemo can really deteriorate your bone quickly. And I have a weakness for diet cokes and my small bone structure just made it all worse. So here I go again, feeling guilty just like I did when I first got diagnosed. It's my fault. I've drunk too much diet coke. Never mind the things I did right like work out all through my cancer treatment. I just saw a nutritionist recently who told me I was eating too much dairy. None of that matters. It's just how it is. I just wanted to throw up my hands and say "Haven't I taken enough pills for a woman not yet 40? Lord knows between the two of us Randy and I have seen 5 doctors just this week. I honestly wanted to pray for the Lord to just magically take it away because I am tired of dealing with all these little problems. I wanted to ask, "Is there some lesson here that I am just not getting? Is there something I should know? What am I doing wrong, Lord? Why won't all these little problems just GO AWAY??!!'
And these are little problems I know. Then you feel guilty for being frustrated by the little problems. As if that will help. NOT. The good news is that the bone loss is reversible. I just need to do something about it. I need to get empowered. So while I am working to get my kids empowered, I am working to get myself empowered too. That's the lesson here. That's the revelation. And how lucky am I to have the chance to do something about it. So the diet coke is being banished from the house. I have to take a pill once a month. The number of workouts per week will have to increase even more. Yet another learning and growing experience in more ways than one. I am SUCH a work in progress, but I know that means He has good plans for me. Lots of love,
Kerry
