5minutefridayEach Friday a group of women flow to the blog of Lisa-Jo Baker to receive a specific writing prompt.

The prompt is just one word. A word to spark an idea in our heads. At the start of a timer we have no more than five minutes to string together an array of words – bursting forth from the corners of our minds. It’s a lesson that teaches us to let go of perfection and embrace the idea of writing. No editing. Just raw words to step across the pages of our blogs and out into the streets of a virtual world to be shared with others.

And that is Five Minute Friday.

This week, the prompt is “Grateful” and you’ll find it here. So link up and join the fun!

Start.

Grateful

I left the doctor’s office on Monday with a heavy heart. I was doing so well, combating the autoimmune issues that reared an ugly head shortly after Wyatt was born.

Twenty-one sinus infections in a matter of four years. Strep throat, Influenza A and three bouts of bronchitis. Those were in addition to the common colds, stomach flu and recurring headaches that covered the path along the way.

I remember thinking: “How can I keep up with three…[and eventually four] children when I feel so bad all of the time?”

Removing part of the thyroid helped. My levels were “normal” for several years, but the symptoms for the immune issue wouldn’t let up.

Tired. Not myself. Sad. Tired again. Trying to squeeze energy out of every nook n’ cranny.

I was prepared to get help from a new doctor. Integrative medicine was a new concept I’d never heard of. He gave me ideas that seemed silly at the time, to treat without medication. But after just a few months I felt more like myself. I was no longer hurting like I did each night at bedtime and every morning when I would wake up. And I noticed my clothes getting bigger as I began to lose weight. This wasn’t my mission but it’s been an incredible bonus.

The 3-month follow-up visit confirmed we were on the right track. This partnership was going well. However, the blood tests confirmed a lot of “slight” allergies to foods that I have now made a regular staple in my diet. Foods that I need to abstain from for at least the next 3 to 6 months – to possibly a year. And even then, I will always need to be careful not to consume too much of what ails me or the problems would return.

This wasn’t something I saw coming. The list was long.

“What can I eat?” I remember thinking as I climbed into the vehicle to drive home.

“It’ll be alright,” I said after driving in silence for a bit. “I’m grateful I’m not a picky eater.”

And then I really was grateful. Grateful that I’m not living in a place where disease is untreatable. Grateful to have a faucet that spews water and own a filter to remove any impurities my body doesn’t need. Grateful that I have access to the foods I need and to the accountability partners that are helping me along the way. Grateful for the tremendous progress I’ve made in just three, short months.

Five minutes just isn’t enough…because I can be grateful all day long.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4:19)

Stop.

***

See? Now wasn’t that fun? Tell me about “grateful” in the comments below – or link up at Lisa-Jo’s blog.

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