Renewed Thankfulness

I know that Thanksgiving is over; however, today I have a renewed thankfulness for my friends and family. It’s not that I was ever really not thankful for them, because I thank God for them every single day. It’s just that, well, sometimes we forget that anybody would really care that we are hurt and suffering, and we begin to think that we’re alone in this journey.

Here’s some background on where this post originated.

This weekend, shortly after having finished interior decorating of the house for Christmas, I decided it would be a fantastic idea to overflow the toilet. (Insert shame and sarcasm here.) And then the water decided it would be a fantastic idea to leak into the basement all over some toys. Ugh. We decided to clean it up ourselves, although with hindsight it probably would have been a better idea to have called in the experts. I have since been told that SERVPRO provides the best services for sewage damage cleanup denver has to offer, so at least we know where to go should this ever happen again. Even though this leak was minor, it’s always better to be sure that it won’t lead to anything more major in the future, so I am thinking we maybe should’ve considered contacting a plumbing service like LaVergne’s Plumbing & Heating (HTTP://LAVERGNEPLUMBING.COM/) to come and check everything was back to normal and working correctly again. Better to be safe than sorry, I guess.

So while I was cleaning up the mess in the bathroom, my mom and stepdaughter were cleaning up some of the spill in the basement. Unfortunately, when I got downstairs, they decided they were finished. Not that they did it on purpose; it’s just that they may not have seen things I did. Like the fact that now I need to sanitize all of the plastic toys. So sometime while I was sorting through the toys to figure out which ones needed to be cleaned and which had not been touched, my back decided it would be a fantastic idea to go out on me.

At first it was just the normal pain that happens when my back goes out. Usually I can rest it for a few days and stretch it, and it will be fine. Well not this time.

On Saturday morning, when I woke up to take my mom to the airport, I could hardly get out of bed without excruciating pain. I fought through it though, determined to to let my husband sleep, and drove the 4-hour round trip drive to the airport. For most of the day following, we spent time at my in-laws’ house to bake cookies. Which is fine, except my back was really aggravating most of the time. So I spent two hours in bed Saturday afternoon resting my back only to find out that I couldn’t get out of bed without sobbing in pain.

Sunday morning was better but it still hurt to move, and I forced myself out of bed long enough to eat breakfast. I did go to an urgent care facility, where they prescribed a steroid taper, a muscle relaxant, and some physical therapy. I spent the rest of the day in bed, researching physical therapy. I didn’t really know anything about it before this, so it was useful to research the benefits of it. I spent this time in bed looking for alameda physical therapy as I wanted something local. The company I found were amazing and even came to my home for my sessions. These sessions worked wonders for my back and it was such an insightful process.

I was so thankful that I went to an urgent care facility, as it did make a huge difference. If you ever feel that something isn’t right then you need to go to an urgent care facility like harmony urgent care. It’s better to be safe, then sit in silence and suffer.

This morning I thought things were feeling pretty good until I got out of bed, walked around for a little bit, and sat for a little while to eat breakfast. Right now it’s difficult to sit up or to move after sitting up or lying down for a while.

Here’s where friends and family come in. I am so thankful for my step mom, who took the kids overnight Saturday night and brought me some extra Ibuprofen and a medicine patch. I am also so thankful for the help of my friends, one of whom took me to urgent care and to the pharmacy, and a few who have brought over/are bringing food and have offered to help me out around the house.

For being a determined woman who hates to ask for help but has a lot on her list, it has taken a lot for me to accept help from my friends and to not continue pressing forward with my normal duties. I am so thankful for the people who offer help and follow through, who know my stubbornness and come to my rescue anyway.

I know it could be really easy right now for me to wallow in self-pity and wonder why God is doing this to me instead of sparing me from pain. The thing is that I don’t think God causes pain. What I do think is that He uses pain to bring us closer to Him and to help us realize the value of those who surround us. On the average day, I might think that no one cares, but it isn’t until I’m enduring a painful circumstance that I can truly realize how important these relationships are.

So if you’re enduring a painful circumstance today, I want you to think for a moment and decide to be thankful for one thing or one person. What is good right now in spite of the pain? I’d love for you to share in the comments below.