July 12 – “Oh, my aching back.”

“Oh, my aching back.”  That’s what Mom used to say whenever she was in awe of something (like when we went on a trip together out West and drove on some of those drastic mountain cutbacks in the Rocky Mountains), or when she was just surprised about something (like when we surprised her on her 80^th birthday with a big party at Seaside and quite a few of her friends and family came), or maybe when her kids did something that caused her grief (although I’m sure I was never a party to anything so grievous).  I suppose it started, though, when she actually did have an aching back.  I don’t really remember it, but when I was a kid she had a bulging disc (or maybe it actually ruptured) removed back before it was a fairly commonplace surgery.  Before and after that time she had great cause to complain about an aching back.  I understand in a way I never thought possible, since I have gone through the whole disc surgery thing a few times myself, and even as we speak (well, as I write and you read), I have one bulging in my lower back that occasionally causes my toes to tingle or go numb or just plain hurt and another one doing something in my neck that causes prickly fingers electricity to shoot up the back of my neck and into my jaw and ear.  Very strange feeling, by the way. 

So back to aching backs.  I just wanted to legitimize my complaining for the day.  I worked in the yard yesterday.  Mowed, edged, trimmed some of the vine in the back that was getting out of control, pulled up some stickerburs in 40 Steps (the lot next door), cleaned up the clippings with my leaf blower.  Not that unusual a day, I suppose, as yard work days go.  But by the time I finished, I was utterly exhausted.  I hurt all over and to top it off, I began to have some bouts with indigestion that came out of nowhere, interrupted intermittently with the hiccups or out and out belching.  Very strange malady to have, I assure you.  And quite annoying.  Cailyn got a kick out of sitting in my lap and having each hiccup shake her to her core.  Of course I did exaggerate things a bit to make it more fun, but the hiccups were all-too real.  I took the usual home remedy measures.  Zantac.  Lots of ice water.  Even had a bowl of chicken and dumplings (that counts as chicken soup, the international cure-all). 

The indigestion stopped fairly quickly, but the other two maladies continued on and on.  Right up until our life group began to arrive for Bible study.  That was something to look forward to – leading a Bible study with the hiccups.  I could sense the hilarity in that one.  Miraculously, however, the hiccups stopped just as everyone began to arrive.  No belching, no hiccupping through the entire Bible study.  Guess God had something in there for someone to get a handle on - uninterrupted.  And in his divine sense of humor way, no sooner had we said amen after the final prayer, than my familiar friend the hiccups returned with a vengeance.  And what more could I say?  I did have a plan, though.  When everyone left I pulled out two small scoops of Blue Bell ice cream.  Perhaps I could freeze them out.  And guess what?  It worked.  By the time I downed the very last spoonful, the hiccups were gone, never to return.  Well, at least not last night.  I was able to get a bit of uninterrupted sleep.  At least until Mom decided around 2 a.m. that she needed to explore all the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen.  But that’s a story for another day.

Psalms 99:5 says, “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.”

Father, thank you for aching backs and indigestion and even hiccups.  Just goes to show once again how very different I am from you.  You are amazingly awesome and profoundly perfect.  Amen.