I have had a hard week of surrender. Friday, Saturday & Sunday I was working like crazy around my house outside. Enjoying the summer-like weather and saving money by doing things myself. Pressure washing the siding and brick, changing flood lights with my ladder 25 feet high, (Anita holding the ladder, of course) washing all my 30 outside windows, pressure washing and then sealing my driveway, pruning all the shrubs AND building a ladder holder in my garage...must I go on! LOL (And NO I'm not for hire.) But man, it's all stuff I LOVE to do, but I just out did myself this time and strained my lower back while working around the pool. My body said to stop, but my stubbornness told me to keep working through the pain for another 2 hours to get the job done! Job was done. I was in pain and putting heat on my back, which inflamed my injury even more. Ice just didn't sound fun and way too cold! LOL WRONG THING TO DO TAMMY!
By morning I was in excruciating pain and could not get out of bed on my own. However, I somehow managed to slowly fall out of bed and onto the floor, but could not move from there. I was laying there crying out in pain and needing to go to the bathroom, of all things. What timing I shouted. The fighter in me said, "I can do this". So I began to crawl through the bedroom and into the bathroom trying desperately to pull myself up onto the toilet. It literally took me 20 minutes to get there. Crying like a baby, I finally called Anita to ask her if she could come and help me and take me to the Dr. She was sooo sweet and asked if she could just take a shower first. I wanted to scream, "NO get here NOW!" But I, in turn sweetly said, "Sure, take your time, but when you get here in an hour, I'll STILL BE ON THE TOILET!" LOL We both just started laughing out loud, which hurt my back even more! But as soon as I hung up the phone I was plotting my way off that toilet and as quickly as possible. I love my friend, but there in NO way she's gonna rescue me from the toilet! (laughing) But it sure gave us a glimpse of what our friendship will look like 40 years from now! LOL
Praise God, I am doing better each day. The lower back strain (and heat) caused inflammation around my L5 and my pelvic was off balance too. So it is all pinching a nerve and causing all this pain. I've been icing it like crazy, taking all natural inflammation pills and have been seeing a new Chiropractor this week. The first day he saw me he anointed me with oil and began to pray over me. I cried on his table feeling the presence of God at that moment. You see, I always get a little emotional when things like this happen to me because I miss Trent soo much and the way he would always protect and comfort me if I was hurting. I was never afraid when Trent was around. So laying there in that room, being anointed with oil, I could feel the strong presence of Jesus and it washed away any fear that I might have had. I began to feel the healing at that moment, and I was allowing God to take control as I was surrendering. After my adjustments, the Dr. would put me on a "traction decompression" machine. A little painful due to my injury, but I know it's helping my vertebrae. I might not be getting smarter, but I'm getting TALLER for sure!! LOL
When we talk about surrender, it may sound like we're talking about a loss or a giving up of something. And it's true that when you surrender your life to God, you are offering control of it to Christ as Lord. However, this surrender does not leave you with loss or emptiness. Rather, it allows God the opportunity to give you back your life and help you live it as it's meant to be lived. There is tremendous blessing in such surrender. God gives us the strength to do what we need to do. He wants to enrich our life, not take from it. He wants to make our life more abundant and guide us. But He won't force His blessings upon us. Rather, He waits for us to surrender in humility and ask Him for His help. In doing so, we make room for God in our life. That is why Jesus said, "He who loses his life for My sake will find it." Sooo cool isn't it! Don't be afraid to surrender or let go today! Your best life is infront of you! So let the healing begin!
And hey, here's some cool things coming up. I'll be gracing the cover of the August issue of HomeLife Magazine where I also wrote the featured article. I totally felt the favor of God and a little pampered during this whole process with HomeLife. And I got to do a whole new photo shoot. How fun is that! So make sure to pick up a copy at your local LifeWay Christian Bookstore or Baptist Churches around the world. The other cool thing is that Focus On The Family will be RE-AIRING my life story on their daily broadcast on July 24th, 2009. It goes all around the world, and I feel sooo honored to be able to bring hope to soo many people at the same time in this way. My message is clear, "It's time to SHINE in the light of Jesus, we're STRONG in the face of the storm, and we'll overcome like a beautiful flower, through the rain, past the pain it's time to SHINE!" - Tammy Trent & Stephen Marshall from the album STRONGER.
God bless you richly as you live fully!
A Fellow Traveler,
Tammy
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