January 8 - “Back in”

We started our day at the first Saturday breakfast fundraiser at church. All proceeds go to our mission partners in Alaska. This time the money will help to pay the expenses of the team traveling to Alaska in May to assist the Humphries family at a missionary training event they are hosting.

 

The breakfast this time was pancakes and bacon. There were also some sausage biscuits. Goooood stuff. Brennan and Josiah and Ezra were the rock stars this time. They stood out by the street with a poster they made and, if all things, to-go boxes. They held up the poster and waved the boxes to get cars’ attention. It worked on more than a few occasions. I chatted with two guys who were on their way fishing. They stopped because of the kids. And after we talked about the Humphries and their ministry, one guy quietly slipped me a $100 bill to add to the pot. That’s some pretty valuable pancakes!  Another young lady from Chicago was in Galveston with a friend just to walk on the beach. They also added a little more to their original contribution once they found out some details about the ministry. We raised well over $500 on the day. Way to go, kids and cooks and those who just took some time to chat.

 

Oh, here’s another cool ministry event that happened while we were there. Cathy brought Sam’s cat up to see her. Sam has been missing that kitty. As for whether Kitty has been missing Sam? Well … it’s a cat. Who knows?

 

Last night we headed up to League City for me to have not one, but two MRI’s on my back - one thoracic and one lumbar. Gotta throw another kink in our process, or in Chris’ words, open another can of worms. This is an old one, though. Now, I have had MRI’s before.  Lots of them. But this back-to-back, thoracic/lumbar action nearly got me. For the first time in my career I pushed the panic button. Not because I was getting claustrophobic. Nope. This was out and out pain. My lower back seized up, and I couldn’t get it to settle down. I tried all the tricks. Counting. Deep breathing and slow exhaling. Discreetly shifting my legs. Nothing helped. She pulled me out, but she was almost done with the thoracic scan, so she said don’t move your upper back. She added a pillow or two under my legs and said if I moved then, she would have to redo a large portion. I told her to finish it out, so back in I went for five more minutes. Fortunately, she pulled me out again and let me stretch before beginning the lumbar one. I sat up and stretched until the spasm eased.  She offered to reschedule, but I was determined to get it done. Back in. And before long … yep. The spasm was back. I endured, though. Made it. Though apparently, barely. When I came into the waiting room, Chris said I looked, in her professional opinion, “all pale and all hunched over.” Sure hope this ordeal shows something.

 

1 John 4:9 says, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”

 

Father, please give my docs the wisdom to find out what can be done for my back. Amen.