 Spiritual: November 23, 2005 Issue [#732] |
  Spiritual
This week: Edited by: Love is a Mommy (no foolin)  
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I find that the human situation draws us all closer together and that is what makes an author truly effective. It is the understanding and communication of the human plight that makes us able to reach the world and if we truly embrace that, all of our writing is stronger, no matter what genre or type of writing we may find ourselves in.
Welcome to the Spiritual Newsletter! Your editor for this month is Love is a Mommy (no foolin) .
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This past Wednesday, I was confronted with a choice. This choice had been building for several years, ever since I had a consultation with an ortho-facial surgeon to have my wisdom teeth removed.
In this consultation, I disclosed that I have a heart disorder called Mitral Valve Prolapse. It affects nearly 5% of all women to varying degrees, and mine is a textbook example. I’ve had many doctors hear about me and simply want to listen to my heart to see what it sounds like. Normally, with taking care of myself, I forget that I even have MVP until I do something stupid to cause it to act up. I told the doctor all of this, where he examined my x-rays, did some more surveys and then sat down with me to go over the risks of the surgery.
He told me that because of where one of my teeth was located, it was possible that he could put a hole in my sinuses that could become infected. MVP patients are very susceptible to the kind of bacteria that lives in the human mouth and if these bacteria were introduced at a high dose into the blood stream, it could infect my heart valve and cause it to stop beating. He looked me straight in the eye and told me there was a very real chance I wouldn’t survive.
Needless to say, I decided I liked breathing and my wisdom tooth was fine where it was. I left the office without any plans to ever return. Fast forward to 2005.
I was having a routine x-ray at my chiropractor’s office and he noticed that my wisdom teeth had turned sideways and were very clearly impacting the rest of my teeth. He told me that I should have it checked out and asked if it hurt. I told him that it did, but I was more willing to put up with the pain rather than end up dead. Instead of taking that as an answer, he gave my x-rays to another patient of his who is a dentist.
I scheduled an appointment with the dentist who then referred me to another ortho-facial surgeon. This surgeon when I met him was incredibly sure of himself, incredibly flamboyant, and exactly not what you would expect a doctor to be like. I had heard from everyone I talked to that he was the best in the field and preformed thousands of extractions a year. I met with him and he assured me that he did hundreds of surgeries each year on people with MVP and that because of my age and my general good health that he didn’t plan on any trouble at all. He also told me that he had never lost a patient out of thousands upon thousands and only had two or three with real issues after the surgery. He told me he wasn’t about to ruin that record. I scheduled the surgery and walked out of the office feeling confident that everything would be fine.
As the weeks until the surgery went by, I found that more and more I lost that feeling of confidence and I regained the fear I had lived with in the years leading up to the appointment. Looking back on it now, I am much the same with God. I lose my confidence in Him and go back to fearing whatever is on my mind. By the time Wednesday, November 16th rolled around, I was good and scared.
Monday, open enrollment for my insurance was ending and I upped my life insurance and my short and long-term disability. Wednesday, I found myself sitting in the waiting room, trying not to chicken out and run. They came out for me and escorted me to a room with a big chair that they got me comfortable in. As soon as I was in the chair and positioned correctly, the nurse strapped a face mask on me and told me to breathe deeply, that it was a mixture of Nitrous and Oxygen and I’d be fine and feel floaty, then go to sleep.
I found that in that moment there was no going back and I was now facing a decision.
Was I going to go to sleep in faith or in fear?
How many times do we need to ask ourselves that? How many times do we give in to fear and not even consider that we are failing at faith. A very wise person once told me that the very opposite of faith was fear, and fear is such an easy choice.
Do we have a fear of commitment or do we have faith that we can follow through?
Do we have a fear of failure or faith that we can succeed?
Do we have a fear of not being accepted or faith that people love us?
Do we have fear? Or do we have faith?
I believe how we make that decision every day affects every part of our lives. It’s not just faith in God: it’s faith in ourselves, it’s faith in those around us, and it’s faith in everything we do.
I believe this struggle is universal, and if you wish to use it in a story, please let me know! I believe one of the most realistic parts of characterization is looking into the character’s soul and spirit and seeing what makes them act the way they do in the story. This would be a great thing to think about if you are writing a story – what is your character afraid of? What do they have faith in? How does that affect the life you are building around them? If you do take this challenge, please send me a link!
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Thank you all so much for the warm welcomes and words of encouragement! I am seriously blessed to have you all and your wonderful words  Just to share a few:
Iva Lilly Durham
I enjoyed this newsletter tremendously and not because my article was featured. :) I will have to do some thinking on 'attitude.' On the one hand, I find pretending all is well when life is going to hell in a handbasket to be hypocrisy, just very dishonest. Yet, I do believe that how we face things makes a big difference. On the whole, a positive outlook is healthier for one and all. Perhaps, as in most things in life, we need balance. Honesty when things are really rough and a positive outlook the rest of the time.
Great job!
Iva Mae
Jay 
I'm a newbie too. Your introduction was wonderful. Many years ago, I learned that my life was to be an open book for others to see they are not alone. Not everyone is called to go that far.
Our attitude toward life can make the way smoother, keep us in a lifetime funk, and really isolate us from people who could and really want to help and love on us.
Congratulations. Blessings, Jay
terrilee
Great first newsletter Love! Your thoughts about the importance of attitude were right on. I suspect that, for whatever reason, most people experience at least one time of depression or unoptimistic thinking and behavior in their lives. Part of growing as a person is learning from our experiences, and it sounds like you have. I'm very pleased that you're now an editor of the spiritual newsletter, and I loved your choice of topic, and the items you picked to highlight in this issue.
Kenzie 
Fantastic, Love is a Mommy (no foolin) ! Your first issue told us a bit about you and reminded us of the importance of attitude. Way to go. 
Blessings,
Kenzie
Vivian 
Welcome, Love. You are so correct, attitude can allow us to endure or make us feel things are even worse. We can face things that surround us in one of two ways, with a smile or with tears. Sometimes we will cry, but if we can keep that "smile" somewhere close, the tears won't drown us. ~~ Viv
Sweet Georgia Brown
HI, Love, I wanted to let you know that I loved your newsletter. You wrote straight from your heart, so fluidly and emotionally, and I could relate so well to the things you said though my circumstances are different. We each go through trials in our lives, some people more so than others, but I have come to the conclusion of faith that it is God's divine will to use our trials for some good purpose that we are not yet aware of at the time. God loves us and God wants to use our pain for something good. One day in the future you will look back on your trials and see the good that came from your pain. Just keep ypur faith. And keep up the good writing. You did a fantastic job with your newsletter!
GoCartCherub- St Louis U
Wow, this was fantastic! Very emotive, and a good point. Sometimes my attitude sucks, and my journal or my writing will reflect that. I would hate to think that people perceived me as only negative...But have you ever noticed how much easier it is to believe the bad things than the good?
Wonderful first NL letter, I can't wait for next month!
Dragon, Syphars Child
Love,
Great first letter. It really did make me stop and think about my attitude. I sat here making sure that my attitude was showing who I really am. For the most part my attitude shows what I really am feeling. I wont go into detail but my life is filled with challenges everyday, of course isn't everyone's? Mine involves to sons who have both have a debilitating disease and have to use power wheelchairs for mobility. So I must say I try to keep my attitude in check. For the most part we are all happy people in our household and for the most part our attitudes show it. :)
Thanks again for a wonderful letter,
Dragon
zwisis
A great newsletter, and very inspirational. You'll be a great addition to the team! Looking forward to your next newsletter
schipperke
Love is a Mommy (no foolin) , I just started receiving this newsletter because, I guess like you were, I feel I am in the 'valley' lately. I loved your editorial and the quotes at the beginning. I will take your words to heart and make an effort to remember what I should be grateful for, and change my attitude.
 Schip
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