Dear Old
Friend,
You’ve
certainly known me long enough to be aware that I tend to get pretty animated
about the things I believe in. I have
been told that I would make a good salesperson because of that tendency; but, years ago I
discovered that was not necessarily the case when I tried my hand
at selling furniture as a way to support my family. I inevitably sent people home to “think about
it” because I could not bear to be pushy.
Although, truth be told, I was never passionate about furniture, which is
why I jumped at an office position as soon as one opened up. But, if you get me started on something I am
passionate about, like the gospel, I can’t shut up! And, while nothing will
ever surpass the gospel or my children and grandchildren as far as passions go,
I have apparently found a new one; quite unintentionally.
My
daughter, a mother of two young boys, is very health conscious. She is always looking for ways to do things
naturally, removing as many additives and chemicals from their lives as
possible. Not too long ago she mentioned
to me that she was interested in learning more about Essential Oils. I nodded encouragingly, but I thought of
it as just another trend du jour; something that all the young mothers-in-the-know
were getting into. Initially I paid little
attention. Then, as she learned more,
she kept talking to me about it, and, wanting to be a supportive mom, I listened and
asked a few questions. When she
signed up so that she could get a discount on the oils she was buying and
offered me her discount on any products I might be interested in trying, I graciously ordered
a couple of oils which I thought I might possibly use so that she could get
money toward the oils she wanted to buy.
You see
where this is going, right? You know
that my shoulder and neck have been hurting since my car accident, despite
pain meds and a chiropractor, so I wasn't expecting much when I tried one of the oil blends on that area; but, to my amazement, I got so much relief that I had
the first good night’s sleep I’d had in months. Soon, I had my own discount, and a kit full of oils. When one of the oil blends in my kit took away my toothache pain, which ibuprofen
hadn’t even touched, I was hooked!
While I am
all for young mothers being proactive by trying to find ways of eliminating as
many drugs and chemicals as possible from their children’s lives, you and I are
Baby Boomers! We’re a part of that great generation which is now completely
falling apart! Most of us are walking
pharmacies, probably in large part due to all of the drugs and chemicals we
have been exposed to across the years.
Case in
point: I have GERD (gastroesophageal
reflux disease). Before I discovered
Proton Pump Inhibitors (like Prilosec, Nexium and Protonix) I lived in fear of
waking up at night with the horrendously corrosive stomach acid backing up into
my throat. When that occurred, I couldn’t
breathe and coughing only seemed to make it worse. It was a terrifying
experience. For me, those drugs were
life-altering and I have taken them for many years.
Then,
recently, I began seeing articles about them. The first one was after I was diagnosed with osteopenia (bone loss), the
forerunner of osteoporosis, where the bones become weak and brittle. The article indicated a possible link between
that condition and PPI’s.
Then, I saw
this article, which suggests a 44% higher risk of dementia for those using
PPI’s. Forty-four percent!!!
And the
final straw was this article regarding increased risk for heart attacks down
the road, with use of PPI's.
I was stunned, and felt caught
between a rock and a hard place! I couldn’t imagine going back to the dread of
throat-paralyzing stomach acid, but the alternative looming possibilities
certainly didn’t seem like a beneficial trade.
Enter oils. I was pretty scared to stop the PPI’s,
because I read that there would initially be an overproduction of acid, but I
found an oil blend which I could take internally, a couple of drops in a
teaspoon of honey, and it worked immediately to regulate and maintain! I have only used it one to two times a week,
and have experienced no problems at all!
A long time ago I was
struck by the thought that there is simply no perfect way for humans to deal
with all of the effects of living in a fallen world. We do one thing and it unbalances something
else and leads to a different set of problems.
As far as sin itself is concerned, there is
a perfect answer, but it is not from any human wisdom or effort. It is the
perfect sacrifice of God’s only Son; His perfectly obedient life for my sinful
life; His torturous death as the penalty for sin, which should have been my
penalty.
But, as far as the
effects on our bodies, we do what we can to correct what we can and then trust
our feeble frames to our faithful creator.
It’s all grace.
Love Always,
Bonnie
P.S. If you have any questions, email me at theoilofgrace@gmail.com
