For the last few weeks my stomach has been.
Been acting up. Been churning. Been doing all the things you don’t want.
Apparently the beginning of this dates back to using Ibuprofen for my knees. The stomach reacted and acid reflux resulted.
At least, that’s the puzzle to this point. There are medical surgeries that can be done. There is a medication (Nexium) that helps – perhaps can even reverse some of the damage. But, for the moment, I’m in research and observation mode.
One of the triggers/foods that are bad for acid reflux is chocolate. For a few months I swore off chocolate — totally! Nothing really changed. Then I took some chocolate and nothing changed. I’m going through other food groups to see what can be done. Tomatoes don’t seem to be too good for me (a sad state of affairs – I can just taste a fresh grown tomato!).
Probably the other area is stress, most often generated by family and work situations. I’ve taken a day off each week – quite literally. For most of my life I’ve had a day off but often infringed on it. Now, I’m trying to keep that day of rest off. Seems to help a bit for that day. So, now I’m looking at the rest of the week. What will reduce stress there?
Now, I need to remember one thing I have preached my whole life (well, for most of my life). Start with God. At the very least that is the greatest place to start. Research and observation are helpful. But God is the beginning of understanding and wisdom.
So, for the moment, I do not know what to do — but I am trusting in God to give me what I need. Perhaps that will be the extreme (in most people’s eyes) of healing. Or perhaps that is strength to live with physical ailment. Or perhaps that is medical and medicinal treatment. But in all this, I want to look for God.