Wow! So, earlier today, I was reading a book that my team is reading along with me for personal development. One page asked some questions, so I leaned over to the nightstand to see if there happened to be a pen in the drawer. My hope was that, some lazy day, a pen had magically been dropped in there after finishing a bible study. Apparently, this drawer had not been opened in long while. Can you identify these strange objects in the picture?

I just stared because the contents of the drawer seemed so foreign.

My mouth was probably hanging open for a second and my breath was definitely taken away. Do you know what those things are? Let me explain. Those weird gloves? They are compression gloves that were worn every night just to be able to sleep through the pain from the arthritis. Sleeping in gloves feels weird. I am positive no one woulddo this by choice. That weird tube of cream? That is an $80 prescription medication that I have not touched in over 2 years. It has been long forgotten and replaced by an essential oil blend which I now no longer need for pain either as there is no pain to deal with. That cream used to be applied 3-4 times per night. It warns of heart problems if over used and there was a max usage for 24 hours. Yes, you read that correctly and are safe to assume that the max would be hit each night.  I would wake up repeatedly every night from the pain to re-apply it as it did not last long, knowing the risks, but feeling trapped. Never getting to sleep through a full night for several years due to all the symptoms of pain, numbness and dry mouth too makes you a little cranky plus you can not think straight. The third item? Bet that one has you stumped. It is a sock, filled with rice, that was microwaved hundreds of times. The warmth from that sock would make the numbness in my hands and feet go away in the morning after about 20 minutes. Each day, my children or husband would heat it up while I stumbled to a chair. It would be moved around to each extremity along with a couple other rice socks to warm my locked up, numb joints so that they could start moving for the day. Then, it would be time to slap on a smile and try to keep moving as much as possible all day. At night, this rice sock as a life saver for several years. It has not been heated up since 2013. Maybe it should be bronzed like a baby shoe as it has been long outgrown!

It may sound weird that a rice sock, gloves(that look like they came from outer space), and a cream would bring me to tears. However, they were such a huge reminder of how far my health has come in a short time. They were a huge reminder of my many blessings. No more painful mornings where I brace myself as my numb feet hit the floor. No more having to wake up all night long to re-apply cream or even oils. I actually sleep 8 hours straight now. That is amazing! No more watching my kids take care of me. That is not right. They are little and should not have to do these things just so their mom could walk them to the bus stop or make their breakfast. Our roles were reversed. No more crawling up steps at night in pain to put them to bed or telling them that Mommy can not come up tonight. Yes, it was that bad. No more pain from the hot water in the shower hitting numb feet. You see, a lot of this was simply forgotten. It is like child birth. When you are healed, you forget a lot of the bad things you endured to get where you are just like the pain you feel bringing your precious baby into this world. Once the baby is here, you are so joyful that you forget the hardships of the birth. I think God helps me to focus on the positives, but He took me back there today. Sometimes, you have to reflect back on the valleys in your life to see the blessing of being on the mountain tops. By enduring years of pain from the autoimmune diseases, I can now appreciate my health better and it has put me on an excellent path to help others through what has been learned.

When this moment occurred today, that pen was needed to answer this question in my motivational book…”Why are you ‘doing’ Doterra?”.  My response. “To help others, to help my family/myself be healthier and to pay ‘it’ forward”. You see,  I LOVE teaching others about natural solutions for their health and educating in general about ways to eat a cleaner diet, reduce chemicals in our homes and more. My natural inclination is to find a solution when someone presents a problem. So, giving advice is my normal practice.  Another question was “What are your talents and gifts?”. That always makes me cringe because they are known, but it feels like you are bragging even if its going in a book no one will read except me. “Hospitality, leading, encouraging and motivating” was my response. There is no requirement to share this with anyone, but it just feels necessary.  It made me realize that this calling to help others is a natural fit. I sincerely want to help others and pay “it” forward whatever “it” is for them. My desire is for others to experience the gift of healing through making changes by eating real foods, ditching the drugs that are unnecessary, getting toxic chemicals out of their lives and more.  My life has totally flipped around now that the health issues are in remission and it is truly a blessing helping others, such as some of you reading this, to find solutions for your challenges…big or small.

I know this is not a typical post. There is no recipe. There are no instructions on something to do or not do, something to avoid or some big conspiracy to expose. It is just a fact that, when God smacks you in the forehead, it is best to share that moment with others.

Be blessed!