MY HEART THERAPIES

It has been a while since I have sat down to write, both here on my blog and in my own personal journal. I felt like I have been holding my breath for the past few months, physically, mentally and spiritually.

I started my heart therapy on the last day of June and spent the next seven weeks driving back and forth every day Monday through Friday to the treatment center in Fort Worth which is about a 35-minute drive when traffic is perfect.  Once I finished the treatments, I was facing the deadline of planning and managing a charity golf tournament with eight other people.  You know how committees work, right?  I also did not have a working kitchen due to a remodel I started back in March.  The range was plugged in but was sitting in the middle of the floor, pulled away from the wall that needed some major renovation even before nailing sheetrock.  The refrigerator was plugged in also but seemed to be in a new location each day. We were waiting on the cabinets to be finished and installed once we finally finished the walls and ceiling ourselves.  The walls and ceilings seemed to take forever. Once the walls and ceiling were finally ready, the cabinet maker came and installed my beautiful cabinets.  (If you ever need new cabinets for any room, I have a great recommendation!)  Then I hired a painter because, well, I was overwhelmed with the amount of painting the cabinets would take.  He did a wonderful job!  But I lived with plastic throughout my front hall for two weeks.  That hall connects our bedroom (which is off our living room) to our bathrooms, office, den, and the entrance to our driveway.  We have an old house, so think of one like a shotgun home.  We dove under plastic to navigate our entire home.  Add a stomach virus and the shingles during those two weeks while having the cabinets painted and trying to finish the details of the golf tournament.

Oh, the stress!

Has your brain exploded yet?  Mine did!

During the stress of my “not-so-perfect storm,” I had no time to even realize if my heart therapy was working.  However, once the golf tournament was over, I had healed from the shingles and stomach virus, all the workers were out of my house, and we connected all the appliances and water back in the kitchen, I took some time to relax and breathe again.

I have noticed a major decrease in my angina attacks.  Other people who see me now comment that I look brighter.  I guess oxygen running throughout my arteries helps.  I now have more energy than I have had in the past 18 months. I am now free from so much pain.  This therapy was not a cure.  I still have attacks at times.  I still get fatigued, but not as often.  I still try to manage my stress levels again.  I never want to enter that stress storm again!  But, sometimes, life just happens.

So, I believe this treatment was a success!  What a blessing from the Lord!  On a Facebook group with other people with this same diagnosis, I have heard from others who struggle tremendously with their health care providers and systems all around the world.  I am so blessed to have had this treatment nearby.  I give God the glory for providing the therapy and for allowing it to work for me.

God is so good. He desires to give me good things. His plan for me is good. Some days, though, I rush out to do “my plan” without waiting for Him to direct me. During my drives for my heart treatment, I usually listened to a Christian podcast to help the monotony. The speakers reminded me that God wants me to love Him and to spend time with Him. 

We all have those days with what seems like a long list of “must-dos.”  When I look at mine, I get overwhelmed by the amount of time it takes me to accomplish them. God wants to direct my day, not have my to-do list direct me. When I focus on my relationship with Him and the people He has put in my life, my heart (pun intended) is full of His peace and rest.  That is what He wants for me—a peaceful heart, not that “perfect storm” of stress. Allowing His heart therapy each day is healing me more than the physical heart therapy ever could.

Moment by moment.

Trusting He has a perfect plan for me.

Doing what He calls me to do.

Writing His story.

Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful.  Colossians 3:15

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

PS - I highly recommend the booklet in my photo. It made an impact on me when I read it over 40 years ago. It’s about keeping the rooms of your heart clean.

Oh, it was worth it! She’s looking so much better.