Back spasms can rob an old girl of her charm!

Back Spasms — A Charm Robbing Tutor

Nothing like lower back spasms to rearrange one’s plans, and teach a few remedial lessons.

Back spasms make everything more challenging! And humbling. They magnify annoyances, and distort what I see and hear. I don’t know which is worse, the actual spasm, or anticipating it.

Whew – can you relate?

What I had was a minuscule taste compared to what others have to swallow. So, the biggest help for me this go-round with spasms was an adaptation of what my art teacher often said when I wasn’t making progress: Stand away from the painting and get some perspective!

It’s hard, but in pain, some perspective helps.

When any calamity has been suffered, the first thing to be remembered is how much has been escaped. ~  Samuel Johnson: Letter to Hester Thrale (July 14, 1770)

The spasms have abated – Thank you Lord. But, before I forget them, I am jotting down those remedial lessons.

#1            I still take a lot of stuff for granted like sitting and standing; dressing myself; climbing into bed, or getting down on my knees.

“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”—G. K. Chesterton

#2             Asking for help, sooner, rather than later isn’t weakness.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrew 4:16)

 #3            Cut others some slack. The ones from whom I ask help may be on overload themselves.

 Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make  yourself as you wish to be. ~Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, c.1420

#4       Quit moaning. Seriously . . .

You’ve got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you’re not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice. ~Steven D. Woodhull (b.1976, U.S. geologist), “Tuition,” 1999

Just before the spasms came, I read a series of posts that a friend wrote; they are a perspective worth considering. Flo Wolfe survived polio as a young child and writes of life lessons that comforted and challenged in every hard place.

Dear Reader — I hope you click the link and read what Flo wrote, especially if pain is an uninvited companion today, robbing you of peace and joy.

P.S. ~ Here’s an older post on maintaining in painful times: When the Deliverance is Not the One We Want