Wake-Up Call

Yesterday when we were outside our condo, Tom almost got hit in a fly-by from this gigantic bird in the picture. I would call it a falcon, but have no idea. I do know it was definitely much larger than a hawk, unless they have gigantic hawks down here. Tom quietly called me over while it was perched in a low tree. After getting a couple of photos from too far away, I realized in the grip of its claws was it prey! A pigeon. My stomach turned. I followed suit and quickly walked the opposite direction. Wasn’t in the mood to see the cycle of life in action—life/death, predator/prey.

Then again, this morning as we walked the 18th hole, the birds around us started getting noisy and scattering fast. We quickly figured out why as a hawk came swooping down after the slowest ones. I turned again and walked the other way. Predator/prey repeating again in my stomach and mind.

My first impulse was thinking of cancer as my predator and me as the prey. But there is no truth to that. Cancer is actually one of the ways our bodies attempt to heal themselves. Sounds crazy, right? It kind of is. It’s a healing process that has gone awry. Our body is trying to cope with a trigger, a stagnation of energy, an energy deficit in the mitochondria of our cells. It’s a wake up call. I appreciate the call and I am going to rise to the challenge.

Instead of cancer being my predator, my true predator is Satan, the Father of Lies, who stalks around like a lion, seeking whom he can devour. Trying to get me to shift blame to others or God; pull out the victim card; or be angry, defeated, overwhelmed and ineffective. Sure there have been moments; but they were short-lived when I pulled out the Truth, Truth I’ve hidden in my heart, or Truth I’ve read, or Truth friends have shared with me. These times are the reason why...community is not to be forsaken even when I often haven’t “felt like it”; regularly reading God’s love letter and instruction manual for life-the Bible refocused my tiny view, and memorizing His Word is truly priceless. So thankful my parents took me to church and Awana as a kid to start those habits young. I have so much to be thankful for.

So thankful...even for this wake up call.

So thankful…I have a choice to be the victim or to choose life. Yesterday, I felt horrible and stayed in our condo the majority of the afternoon and evening. Later in the day I reread information about detoxing and realized the headache, runny nose, extreme emotions, and low energy were all detox symptoms. But I felt so much better physically the day before?! Saturday I was outside moving, sweating toxins out, getting vitamin D. Sunday, I didn’t drink enough liquids in the morning, I didn’t move much and I stayed inside. Today, a new day, a new year…I choose life. I go hiking again. This time I learn and slow down, a snail’s pace and baby steps uphill with numerous pit stops and focused deep breathing to avoid “vigorous exercise”. It was a much better detox symptom-less day during this wake-up call.