Back Surgery Metaphors of the Christian Life

My journey toward reconstructive back surgery began years before 2016. Cortisone shots in my lower back reduced the pain and inflammation, but they were temporary measures, never fixing the big picture. After air travel alone in January and again in February, after slinging computer bags into the overhead bins and pulling bags from the baggage carousel, it was clear that something was wrong.

http://www.teachpe.com/anatomy/the_spine.php

As a fibromyalgia sufferer, it’s sometimes hard to know if pain is more than just a spike in ‘regular’ pain.  For a while I dismissed the pain in my hips, lower back, buttocks. My right quad would go numb when standing for too long. Tingles would cascade down my legs. When I woke on March 9 with a massive muscle spasm from my lower back to behind my knee, my husband said, “Now will you go to the doctor?”

So I did, finally. After yet another cortisone shot in my left lower back and an x-ray showing a ‘bone spur’ on the L4 vertebra in the lumbar region, the physician’s assistant requested an MRI from the insurance company. If you follow me on Blasting News, you’ve read that story.

How is all of this a metaphor for the Christian Life?

First, you can’t go about changing a problem until you realize you have a problem. As non-Christians, we all must come to the conclusion that something is wrong in our lives. All the Tylenol Extra Strength doses would never fix the cause of my pain. Once I knew that the pain had a specific cause, I knew I had to fix it. Sin in our lives, yes even Christians sin, can never be repaired without the Holy Physician’s help. Only He can remove our sin as far as the east is from the west. Until He excises my sin problem, my constant missteps without Him, I continue to stumble and fail to live a life focused on Him instead of dwelling on myself.

Spring has sprung and so have I!

So, I have finished 2 of my Christian historical fiction novels: Gold Earrings and A Time to Choose. No publisher interest yet.

I'm also writing a teacher/education professional book Paperfolding 101: Creating Graphic Organizers from Regular Paper. I'm just starting to market it to the teacher-made publishers.

Today I signed up on Associated Content in hopes of writing something that actually makes money.

See me on Ravelry as dktatum! Knitting has become my favorite hobby. Beading, reading, and cross-stitch are in the back seat.

Fibromyalgia - My daily unknown. Will I feel well or achey? Will I drag around tired and/or depressed? This is a big reason I "retired" from teaching. It's hard to be consistent and available when you don't know what each day will bring. Cymbalta has helped a lot. I'm back on Celebrex, too. Still use Amitriptylin and Gabapentin at night to get a deeper sleep. Still, each day is a question mark. I can plan to do things; I just don't know how I will feel doing them.