on the 2nd day

'On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.' or so the song goes.

Okay i'm not going to give you two turtle doves but a dove has always been a symbol of peace and so my gift today is simple - Peace.

Jesus Christ promised us that he would leave us his peace after he ascended into heaven - 'Peace I leave with you, my peace i give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid' (John 14:27 KJB)

Often we look for peace in worldly things such as wealth and pocessions but this is not the peace promised. The peace promised is that no matter what is happening in our lives we are never alone, not forsaken, not forgotten and as we struggle with life's cares, as we often do He will bend down and lift us up, send angels to comfort us and balm to heal our broken hearts.

My second Gift to you is Peace.

A Little Exercise

Did you do a little exercise today?

I use to say that I exercised every day. In fact on work days I would claim that I would walk miles and miles, which was true. However on the other days I hardly did a thing but sit and vegetate in front of the computer and I wasn’t always doing something useful either.

Now exercise is slow and painful, but is part of my ever day life. 

Back in May when I, in quick succession saw first an orthopaedic consultant, then a physiotherapist and then had a MRI scan of my knee to finally go back to the consultant and be told it was osteoarthritis, I was dumbfounded, gobsmacked and shocked. I lay all the accusations at God’s feet, why me, why now, why this, why that? This was supposed to be my time to finally live. My youngest daughter was going off to University and was going to work and to enjoy my life.

In the beginning I could barely walk at all. It was tip-toe or it was a slide. My knee would neither straighten nor bend and the pain was beyond my ability to understand.  Just physically getting out of bed was a great trial and socks, nor point even thinking about wearing any? 

First I was afraid to try and do too much because I was being told I had injured this or that in my knee but once I knew it was arthritis, something that won’t get better but can be managed I decided to start and fight back. Some days it beats me down but the next day I try and get up and fight back again.

When I first attended the physiotherapist I was very much leaning towards my good side, the right side, and I couldn’t understand how these tiny little exercises she was teaching me would make any difference. But, one exercise led to another and from shuffling in there on day one with two crutches today I walked out with a walking stick. It’s not very posh but its progress. I now walk in a very slow but I would say dignified way, even if my daughter thinks I look like an old lady. I am also beginning to walk up stairs, like a normal person and not one step at a time.

If all we can do is a little and it is our best, then a little will do, but we must be honest with ourselves so we can grow and move forward one little bit at a time. 

7am

Muesli

Milk

Orange juice

Banana

1pm

Coffee and cake

5pm

Cheese and onion bake

Croquette potatoes

Baked beans

Chocolate Rollo pudding

9pm 3 digestive biscuits so i can take my pills

A list ...

... of what i have learnt. Your list will be different. Write one, put it somewhere and read it again in a year or more and see if it's still true. A few years ago when my oldest daughter Grace was at university some 222 miles away in Bath (according to Google maps) she became very ill and spent a week in hospital. I recieved the message at 10:30 at night and i don't drive so couldn't do much at that time of night. I prayed that night that i would feel she was save and being taken care of so i could sleep because being a nurse i know when a family member is sick it takes lots of energy that people dont always have enough because they can't sleep. I also phoned the local church near where she was at that time and i know people went to see her, people who were strangers but they went anyway and reassured me that though she was sick she was in good spirit. 

While i was staying at my daughter's students lodgings i wrote a list of things that i had learnt, things i thought were of value. I don't know if she still has the list and i'm sure this new list will be different in parts if not in the whole but these are the things i feel are important today; 

1. Sleep before midnight - often
2. Sleep 8 hours a night - most of the time
3. Rise early - you will get more done
4. Get ready for the day - dress to your shoes, so if you need to you can just walk out the door
5. Eat breakfast - fruit, yoghurt, cereal, cereal bar, bread toasted or not but eat something
6. Drink water - do not buy bottled water, the water from the taps in the UK is more then adequate
7. Take lunch with you - its healthier and it's cheaper
8. Girls should smell nice - a bath or a shower every day is adequate anything else, sprays, lotions, potions and perfume is extra
9. Wash you face properly - buy a bar of oil based soap from Bodyshop, e.g coconut, olive, shea and use it every day. Use an exfoliatant once a week. Add a simple moisturiser
10. Get your hair cut and styled regularly
11. Dress appropriately - no one looks good in the wrong size or the wrong style of clothing
12. Buy and wear nice underwear - make sure it fits correctly and so what if no one else sees it, you at least know what's under your clothes
13. Take some daily exercise
14. Get your weight under control and keep it there - not everyone is supposed to be super skinny and besides it's not any healthier then being over weight, unless it's your natural size
15. Don't eat meat a couple of times a week - give your body a rest
16. Eat fruit and vegetables
17. Be honest - don't cheat you will only get found out and it may cost you more then you think, don't lie, the only person you are really lying to is yourself and don't steal, if it's not yours and you don't have permission don't take it, don't use it
18. Live with heart and hands wide open - be generous with what you have and share it whenever possible and appropriate, likewise, be grateful for the blessings that you have
19. Do the four, go to church, read your scriptures, pray, and pay your tithing
20. A word on prayer, pray openly, pray in your heart, walk with prayers under your feet, pray for a blessing over your what you eat and drink daily, be thankful in your heart at all times
21. Learn to meditate and practice daily
22. Be clean - in mind, body and soul
23. Strive to have the Holy Ghost with you all the time
24. Save - yes money - no matter how little, a little goes a long way when necessary
25. Always have enough money to get home
26. Stay out of unnecessary debt - a car is not essential unless you need it for work and not to just get to work
27. Don't gamble, not even the lottery
28. Work for what you need
29. Have a food storage - to last you at least two weeks
30. Only buy cheap if it's worth it 
31. Don't own what you don't need - someone else maybe able to use it, so share it
32. Re-cylcle - when you can, don't use plastic bottles and bags and cups
33. Read good books that have nothing to do with what you are studying
34. Laugh often
35. Be friendly
36. Say I LOVE YOU

Compassion

I think my whole week as been a week of compassion, for me, i might add. So today i'm grateful for those who have shown me compassion, whilst i continue to hobble about on crutches.

The Gifts

- The elderly gentleman who held open the car door

- Being taken out for lunch to stop the boredom

- Bumble bees

- Butterflies

- Strawberries and cream

- Automatic doors

- Nurses

- For all those strangers who just say 'after you' and let me hobble into lifts and through doorways first

- The Last Supper

- The Sacrament

- Forgiveness

- Birthday surprises

- Pink envelope from Mum and Dad

- A funny postcard

- A friend with a good heart

- Daughter home from university

- A blessing that took away the pain

- Fields full of poppies

- Seeing the sea

- The Glass Factory and the glass roof

- The sunshine and the showers

- And loving hearts

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