I have a Kindle that my dear husband got me a few years ago. I totally love it, and read anywhere from 5-10 books a month on it. Every once in a while I will read one of my actual paper books I have.
This month I finished my Kindle books early, so I decided to go through a series I really like, reading each paper book in order. (Lois McMaster Bujold’s “Vorkosigan” series) I can’t put these books down! This is a series I have read — at least 3 times all the way through. I can’t remember exactly. I know what’s coming. I know the dialogue. There are no surprises. And yet — I can’t seem to put these books down!
Is it the actual tactile thing of holding a paper book in my hand? Needing a light to read, since I can’t rely on a backlit screen? Turning actual pages instead of tapping a screen? I am not sure what. But I am enjoying these books just as much as the first time I’ve read them. Books are books, but sometimes a book can be more enjoyable in a different format.
I haven’t been feeling well recently. Normally I am a very healthy person; I rarely get sick. But I really did feel awful, off and on for months. Then in August I began to feel really bad. Bad enough that I went to the doctor, which is rare for me.
Many, many tests and procedures later, I have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. I am not happy about this, but it is what it is. In educating myself about this condition, I realized I have had it for a long time, and it didn’t just “pop up” as I first thought.
As a woman, it is pretty normal for me to just keep on. Feel tired? Feel lousy? Just keep pushing! Come on, don’t be a wimp! There is work to be done! I am used to being the one to do things, to get things done. I rely on God and myself, not others. If I don’t do it, it doesn’t get done. Does this sound familiar?
My body had been telling me to take care of it, and I hadn’t been listening. Or, I listened but didn’t do anything about it. And, I really can’t do that anymore. I don’t ever want to get a bad flare up like I had in August again. So I am having to slow down some. I am having to say “Yes” to myself sometimes instead of always “No”. I need to be better at relaxing.
So, recently I took myself out to breakfast. I went to a live play. I booked a couple of days in a small cottage in a place I have never been before. All those things cost money, but not a great deal of money. I’ve changed the way I eat, and what I eat. And I’ve lost weight.
I’ve been praying that I can be a good steward of all God gives me. That includes this body. At my age you would think I would have learned these things and have already been taking better care of my body. But, again as a woman, I am much better at taking care of others than I am of myself.
