{Sharing My Heart Today}

 

It seems that it's been forever since I have made a blog post. To be honest, I wasn't physically or emotionally able and I wasn't sure how to share to be honest so I just decided to be me....and share my heart. But, I first want to share that the last time I blogged I shared with you all that Marty and I was going to the mountains so let me share about that a little first.  We had the most incredible mountain view while on top of a mountain and God surely allowed us to enjoy His beautiful creations. It seems that was already so long ago that we went as it has been a good while since I have posted anything on the blog.  The weather was great, the views were simply breathtaking and the cabin was as cute as a button. 

The beautiful tapestries of God never lack in color no matter the season we are in. 

The quaint and tidy sweet cabin was everything we needed and desired. 

The cabin was called "Bird Song" and it was obvious the owners of the cabin had a love for all types of birds. The lay out was great. Not too big and not too small. Actually, for just two of us, smaller would have been fine for us. 

The cabin's rustic charm was nonetheless right up my alley. I love rustic, nature, woodsy it surely suited us.

The rocking chairs on the porch overlooking the mountains became our favorite spot.  We have rocking chairs on our front porch at home but rocking in a chair overlooking the mountainside was quite serene. 

The sun setting in the afternoons was amazing and these pictures doesn't do the view of what we saw justice. The sun setting and rising became so very real to us. Those little things like that, well, we tend to take for granite at times. I was reminded quickly of just how big our God was. Only HE could bring a sun to rise and a sun to set. 

Needless to say a hammock on the porch with a little vitamin D was just what the doctor ordered it seemed.

We have a fireplace at home but we have matching recliners with a small table between us. I gotta have a place to put my coffee you know! So, it seemed nice to be able to cuddle up on the couch in front of the fireplace for a change. And....you can't sit in front of the fire without doing a feet shot, right? 

I am always saying, "It's the little things in life that bring us the greatest pleasures". 

For our yearly mountain trip together AKA my birthday trip we had decided this year to truly take the time to enjoy the views and the cabin. Our goal was to pace ourselves with less activities and more time together and to enjoy our surroundings. We had planned a one day outing which was about an hour away from the cabin. We had planned for a half a day or so to browse around the local town nearby. We have been in this area of North Ga many times so the things we planned was not new to us but we still had our plans. Our every meal was planned and our low key agenda was planned. I mean, I am a planner and things are wrote down on paper. Anyone else like that?  

But, sometimes our plans don't go exactly how we plan do they?

With the pollen being so bad in our neck of the woods Marty's allergies has nonetheless kicked into an all time high. He suffers with them each year. We both do but his allergies are always worse than mine. For about a week it seemed his allergies of the norm...sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes had also ventured into a little cough. He wasn't quite feeling himself. Then right before we left for our trip I began to notice a little cough. We both found ourselves just "not feeling it". As our symptoms lingered it appeared that we both had a common cold. Of course the symptoms of so many different things now days are so confusing. You can "google" something and get 100 different answers right?  But, we felt well enough to make the trip so we did. A little mountain air would do us good. After all, the plan was to enjoy the cabin, surroundings and one another and that my friends became a true reality. 

Within a day after arriving to our destination we both found ourselves very sick.  Our symptoms had worsened and quickly. I am sharing this only here for several reasons but mainly due to the fact that my husband is a very private person and does not appear on FB, Instagram or any social media. I did ask him if I could share on the blog and he said yes. So many of you have reached out to me privately to check on me and out of respect for my blogging friends that we do keep up with one another, I wanted to share. I have decided to refrain from sharing this on other platforms of social media. Out of respect for so many of my blogging friends that have lost loved ones and friends I will not go into any great details here or the different symptoms that we had but I will tell you that Marty and I both were very sick. What appeared to be allergy, common cold surely turned into more and quickly. That was the frightening part, how quickly things can surely happen. We fought this ugly virus called Covid.  

I know that all viruses are bad and I do not underestimate any of them I can assure you. I’ve had the common cold and the flu and I know how sick one can become in a short amount of time . 

Within a matter of a few hours rapid testing was done.  And, within a short amount of time my heart rate quickened, oxygen level began to go down some and my breathing at a normal pace became hard.  I carry my nebulizer with me on any trip and I keep an emergency inhaler in my purse and one at home. Someone with asthma is always prepared and I can assure you that I was.  Within hours I had a facetime Dr. visit with my primary at home and medications within a few hours was in my hands . Breathing treatments and breathing exercises became routine. 

All I can say is that we are thankful that we had one another to help one another. Yes, for those that know our daughters then you know they were all three ready to hire a medical plane to come and get us off the top of that mountain . To be honest , at one point , I’m not so sure we would have had the strength to get on a plane. 

 

During this time I had asked the Lord to give me a scripture that would bring me comfort among many other requests that I laid at His feet. Well the above scripture is what popped up that day for the scripture of the day. I clung to that scripture. We continued to stay as hydrated as possible , rest which at that point truly wasn’t by choice but a must, and we just kept praying for one another . By end of the week we felt we could make the trip home and to be honest, I could not get home soon enough. I do not ever recall a time that I have had so little energy and such lack of stamina in my life. We went from the bed to the couch to the rocking chairs on the porch at the cabin. We made ourselves walk around the cabin. It became a chore to simply get out of the bed. We neither had appetites and had to make ourselves eat.

 

 Praise the Lord that I am a planner to be honest. We always prepare for the most part. We had plenty of water, Gatorade, sprite, fever reducer, thermometer, oxygen and heart rate monitor. I look back and can see where God had his hand even with having an oxygen/heart rate monitor. I had just bought one several days before we left for our trip and it had been advised to me that with Covid season, our Senior adult status and me with asthma that we needed one. I surely see the timing of the Lord with this one simple step of being prepared. We had pre-planned the majority of our food items in which I always toss in extra cans of good old Campbell’s chicken noodle soup . We actually had all we needed and more than we wanted as we had no appetite though we made ourselves eat . Staying hydrated was our goal . 

Fast forward a few days.....Marty began to improve more than me. I could not regain strength and my cough had become more intense even after fevers had stopped.  I was struggling with doing simple things such as getting out the bed . Hair and makeup , well let’s just say it had no significant reason to exist at that point . Y’all, when I don’t want to put on lipstick then I’m sick !

 

 God helped us get home and safely. I did have a follow up with my primary once home in which I was given a B12 shot to help boost my strength with instructions on how to better care for myself. The b12 did not seem to touch it though. I lived off of boost drinks and protein drinks for several weeks. I will say this and I am not joking..... God gave us that beautiful view because He knew that it would somewhat be our lifeline to His amazing Grace. I sorta joke about it a little now but I thought, what better view to have when quarantining.  But honestly, when you feel helpless there is no view that truly gives you 

peace. So, you must look for the view. The one that God wants you to have and that view is HIM. We can only pray and trust God no matter what. 

The great thing was that neither of us had any other underlying health issues except for my asthma which is ENOUGH  and your worst enemy with this virus needless to say. We felt blessed in hearing the words, "You do not have a weight issue, no known heart issues, no high blood pressure issues and no diabetes". As my primary said, "This is Major good news". But the words, "Asthma" sends up major red flags. Though it's not always the case by any means but other underlying health issues surely adds chaos to the already chaos. Praise the Lord that things were done in a timely manner and we stayed on top of things. But in all honesty, I am just grateful and thankful PERIOD! 

Marty was able to return to work. His work days are long so he’s tired anyway at the end of the day but he has regained most of his strength. He is still battling heavy with allergies and takes an allergy medication daily.  I work a few days a week and have returned. My strength has returned slowly and day by day.  I did wind up on antibiotics as at one point it looked as though my cough was going into bronchitis. Marty regained his taste back and a little smell back. Just last week my taste came back and I still have no smell. I have heard some say their smell did not resume until 6 months later. We are so much better than we were till I surely don't won't to complain.  I am making myself and I say make myself....do a little exercise daily to try and build up my strength. This has truly been a wake up call in different areas. We tend to take things for granite and I honestly think that is normal for most. And, how quickly we forget the goodness of God! But here is the thing....God is still God regardless of what route we would have taken. That, I am trusting with all my heart. He is surely a good, good Father.

 It's all real...regardless of whether it's Cancer, Covid, or you just quit breathing! Loss is loss and it only becomes so very real to those that have experienced it.  And, I too, have lost loved ones to other things in life that was not COVID.

Though my trust has always been in my relationship with Jesus I found myself afraid to be honest. Not just for myself but for my husband. I knew I was at a higher risk with asthma. Now, is there anyone I can blame. NOPE! Well, maybe China and I am sorry if this offends anyone. The power struggles of this world are very real but so is sickness of any kind. 

I am not on the band wagon of "wear masks, don't wear masks". I’m not one to stand and argue with another over who is right and who is wrong . Never have been. I have said from day one...everyone needs to do what is best for them and for others whatever that may be for you. But, I have truly tried to be most respectful of others and care for myself. And I have truly tried to not judge others for their way of thinking on this matter and I am not trying to push my way of thinking on others by any means. I’m just simply making a statement:  Be aware of what your body is telling you . Don’t wait to get help . Do what you feel is best for you and your family regardless of what others may think . TRUST GOD...even when it's hard. ENJOY each day the Lord gives you on this earth. I was reminded too that my home is not this world but in heaven. 

I am not here to tell anyone, take the vaccine or do not take the vaccine. That is each person's choice. 

There is a huge part of me that feels guilty in sharing this with the loss of so many of those we love or know, or have admired. Our situation seems so small in the overall big picture compared to most. But, one thing I learned years ago in a Bible study...if it's important to you...no matter how small, then it's important to God because HE CARES! 

We are truly giving God the praise as we both know this could have turned out so differently. 

My word for the year is Joy.  I can assure you all that since first of the year it's been hard to choose JOY! First with my eyes and having such a struggle to see and then sickness. But, even in the midst of it all...I have tried to choose JOY!  I was reminded that our joy comes ONLY from God....and not the world or from others. 

I want to say in closing that my heart is more tender than ever towards those that have suffered in any way and that I pray a health of abundance over my blogging friends. May we never take for granite the simple things in life...they will surely bring us the greatest pleasures. 

 The Bible says that the rocks will cry out and will praise Him... So often we are so busy asking God for things that we forget to give Him Praise. I want to give our Lord Praise today by sharing with you.  We are getting stronger every day.  I’m ready for the norm of life whatever that norm is . I’m making a few lifestyle changes to help myself and praying I can stay focused . I pray health upon you all . 

NOPE, it wasn't quite the mountain trip I had PLANNED for but God surely knows what He is doing and why. 

And, I had a tea party with these girls, messy hair and all, so...YES, I am enjoying the little things because they surely do bring me the greatest pleasure.

Pop tarts worked for us! 

 And, I shared my favorite grandson Conner's 15th birthday with him today. God is good!

Hugs and blessings, Cindy