Now where shall I start this article? I have spent three glorious weeks travelling and it has been truly a mountaintop experience, but now I have tumbled down into the valley. See that little old lady with a cane? Well that feels like me. All that driving in a car really crippled me up and I still can’t walk—change that to limp—without discomfort. I told my hubby last night that I felt imprisoned in my own body. Okay, that’s the down side of my experience, but there is a definite UP side. We stopped to see relatives in various places as far flung from each other as Edmonton, Alberta and way down to Oklahoma. We did go further than that though: Mississippi was our goal.
Do you know what people have in common? A caring attitude.
When we reached Stephen’s sister is Kansas, I pretended to walk normally but didn’t deceive anyone. It wasn’t long before they were hovering over me like I was a beautiful bird with a broken wing. Did that compassion soon stop? Nope. Because of generous, concerned loved ones, I ended up seeing chiropractors not once but four times before we arrived back home, and once since.
I admit being a little leery of having my bones manipulated, but hey, when you are desperate enough, you’ll do anything right? To my surprise chiropractic methods have really soared over the last thirty years, and I was introduced to something called an Activator which really helped. Believe it or not, anyone could have seen the improvement in my walk if there had been a before and after video taken.
No, it wasn’t a magic cure-all but hey, it took years to get into this condition which was caused mainly by an ancient injury, but at least I see light at the top of the valley I have tumbled into.
Oh, by the way, when I started rambling I didn’t really know which way this article was going, but there is one thing I must share with you.
Medical problems in the states aren’t something we Canadians look forward to having, but do you know what? Four of those treatments, plus ointment, plus pills and plus a couple of informative books were all provided anonymously free of charge. Any wonder why I’m feeling a bit teary-eyed?
Me? A Little Bird in a Cage? Hey you guys, remember me writing about tumbling into a valley? That’s not soo long ago, surely you remember it! Well anyway, I mentioned being imprisoned in my own body, quite a phrase, eh? That trip really did a number on me physically. Not only was I crippled up but it was kind of hard, okay I’ll admit, sometimes mighty hard to find food that my body wanted to tolerate, which left me feeling…UHHH when I got home. (Ya, before to.)
Then I got inspired to read in this real old book called Springs in the Valley. It’s so ancient I don’t even have the original cover on it, but the author was Mrs. Somebody-Or-Other-Cowman.
Ever hear of a lady called Madam Guyon? She must have been a real sweetheart cuz when she was imprisoned in a castle at Vincennes she said: “It seems as though I were a little bird whom the Lord has placed in a cage, and that I have nothing to do but sing.” I like that thought. I think many of you can verify that suffering often does bring us closer to God and we can hardly stop praising Him for all the love He is bestowing on us.
Oh, I know, I know you have things to do and places to go, but please, let me throw in another thought or two. The famous John Bunyan also found prison a blessing in disguise. It was there that Scriptures, that meant nothing to him before, shone with new light and ‘Jesus was never more real and apparent’ than there. I envy him.
So when you are praying for the persecuted around the world, don’t only ask God to protect them, but that He will be with them in a special way.
