Life's Peachy - I Have Much to Give Thanks For

I've been a bit discouraged lately.  Too much pressure at work.  Too much to do at home.  Not enough hours in the day.  A husband who is travelling every week now, and even leaving in the middle of our weekends.  More problems recently with my neck.

But when I stop to reflect, I have much to give thanks for.  In many ways, my life is even "peachy".  Despite some long hours, I have kept very healthy, as have my family.  My kids are wonderful, smart, happy, bring me much joy, and shower me with love.  My husband still shows that he loves me also.  Our business, although too hectic, is very successful.  My garden is full of wonderful surprises, and gives back much more than I give it.  We finally got the rain we had been waiting for, so as I dug around in the ground tonight, the soil was moist - a very refreshing change to the recent dryness.  Recently, I even received a miracle related my neck.

Speaking of peaches, though, I was showing my neighbours John and Sandy my garden this evening, and they convinced me to pick my single peach before the squirrel picks it, as he does with many of my apples and cherries and such.  Ha, maybe for a change he will be out there cursing tomorrow that I picked it before it he got to it!  Anyhow, the peach already had wonderful colour, so I took a chance that it is ripe enough to come inside and finish the process on the kitchen counter.

I like this photo of the peach from tonight, the onions are courtesy of the book "Play with Your Food" by Joost Elffers.  It is a wonderful book we bought long ago, which has provided amusement to us and the kids over the years.

Here is the peach in hand, to give a sense of its size.  The lighting was not good, since it was already dark outside when I took the photo.

As for my neck, it was about a year ago that I first put it out of alignment, and after weeks of pain in my arm, found a chiro who was able to ease it back into alignment for me - see original post here Sadly, I have put it out again three more times over the past year.  The second time was in February, and I was reaching up and pruning my gigantic butterfly bush, trying not too look up more than necessary (since I had been warned that this could put it out again), and reaching up and pulling down those big branches.  I knew it right away.  Sadly, it required three visits to my chiro before the adjustment "held".  Each time, I went through the stiffness and soreness for a couple of days after the adjustment, only to be disappointed that the discomfort in my neck (it feels like burning at the base of my neck on the right side) and the pain in my arm was still there.

This most recent incident, I was doing some sort of reaching up and lifting something.  I can't even remember if it was in the garden, or pulling pots down from my pantry, or what.  There was no pain in the arm as such, just a funny aching feeling, but the familiar burning on the side of my neck.  I have been to two adjustments this time, and as the stiffness is wearing off, I'm trying to decide if I'm good now, but sadly I'm still feeling some funny sensation in the neck, so I may need to go back for another check and possible adjustment.  Which makes me appreciate even more the miraculous healing I received the last time my neck went "out".

It was the end of June, and I was packing and preparing for the trip to Mt. Hood.  My husband was arriving late that night, and we'd all be leaving the next morning.  So I was packing for the 3 of us, and trying to get as much laundry and such done so he'd be able to pack easily the next morning.  It was early evening when I realized that I had put my neck out.  It was unmistakable.  But even if I could phone for an appointment, I wouldn't have been able to get in at such a late hour, and we couldn't wait the next morning, since we had some 7 hours of driving ahead of us, and were determined to arrive in time for dinner.

So I laid myself down on my side, trying to remember the position my chiro had laid me in, a number of times already.  Then I prayed that the Lord would have mercy on me and heal me, so that I would be able to enjoy my family and going hiking, and all those good things which we had planned on our trip together.  Praise God, He did heal me.  Although not for any reasons or anything I did, but just because He chose to do so.  When I sat up, I was stiff, just like I am after an adjustment by the chiro.  But later that evening, all the pain and discomfort was completely gone, and I wasn't even sore for the next couple of days, as I usually am.  The adjustment worked, and wonderfully.

So a couple of weeks ago, when my neck went "out" again, I tried a number of times, lying down and praying for healing.  But each time, the answer I seemed to be getting was that I should get off my butt and phone my chiro for an appointment.  Which I did.  Funny enough, it is the repeated failed attempts to adjust it now which have made me more grateful for the healing which I did receive.  Just in case I believed it was so easy just to lie on my side, and the neck would go back "in" on its own.  Yeah, just in case.  God is good.