Diphenhydramine is my Friend

I have had seasonal and environmental allergies all my life, but they have worsened in my middle age, rather than improved. My doctor has recommended that I remove all carpet from my apartment, get rid of the animals, and keep my home free of mold and dust at all times. To this advice, I say, "PSHAW!". Each of these recommendations carries with it its own set of challenges. But last night I had an experience that made me realize that THIS NEEDS TO BE a bigger priority than I have made it.

I've been generally stuffy, sneezy and sniffly, eye-watery, etc. for about one month. I'm getting by with the help of two kinds of eye drops, a nose spray, an inhaler, several allergy meds, and plenty of tissues. But last night, just out of the blue, one of my eyes began to hurt and swell up. I could feel it happening, and it was scary! The sclera around my eye was swelling around and over my iris. In the mirror, it looked like a big blister on my eyeball! Totally freaky! It was most discomforting. Blinking was painful and difficult. Felt like I had something big stuck in my eye. My experience was probably minor compared to some people's experiences with allergy responses (uh, hem, Lynlee--). But still- I FELT LIKE this guy:



So I hurried to the drugstore and got some Benadryl (diphenhydramine) -which amazingly I had NONE of- then placed a cold compress on the eye and settled in for a long night's sleep. It was much better this morning when I woke up. Thank you, Lord!!

So today I have spent my first day of spring break doing some much-needed SPRING CLEANING. Not my favorite use of time, but I can say without exaggeration that it has become medically necessary for me to clean my house. All this dusting and vacuuming will probably make me sicker for a day or two (it always does), but I am on a MISSION to de-allergize this place! It WILL be accomplished, even if it means regular doses of Benadryl around the clock!

I wonder... if I could prove it was medically necessary for me to have a maid, would insurance pay for it? Ha....keep dreaming, Davida... Maybe with Obama's new health plan?!?!? Hahaha...

On Raining and Reigning

Sometimes I find a song that I really like, and it fits my mood, and I just put it on "repeat" so I can hear it over and over...until it's permanently in my heart and memory. (And until my mood changes, at which point I find a different song to play and replay and replay.... and this great cycle of tune obsession continues...)

The song repeating tonight is "Rain Down" by David Crowder Band (video at the end of this post). I love its sound AND its message. And it has caused me to think tonight about RAIN.

Living here in Washington will make a person accustomed to RAIN, whether he wants to grow accustomed to it or not. I personally LIKE rain very much, and I find myself enjoying it way more often than complaining about it. Growing up in South Texas, we would have the most incredible downpours and lightning storms, especially in the summer time. I remember those stifling hot days and how REFRESHING the rain would be when it would come in the evening. I remember several times when I would just go out purposely into the rain and get DRENCHED in its cool wetness.

One of my best childhood memories is of a summer night when the sun was setting, and a storm came--and some of us kids just ran around in it and literally went a little wild--laughing and running and yelling out, attempting to out-sound the thunder. It was pouring, and it felt so good! It was rejuvenating and invigorating. It was a welcome contrast to the stagnant air we had breathed all day, and the dry, dusty Texas heat. The rain was fragrant. And after being in it for awhile, I remember feeling so clean and sleeping so well.

Tonight I was enjoying the damp mist in the air outside. And as I listened to this song, I thought of that summer night in Texas- and of several other times, even in Alaska and here in Washington- when I have purposely allowed myself to get soaked by rainwater. What a grand illustration of GOD's downpouring in our lives! If we ask Him, He will DRENCH US in His limitless love, His perfect peace, His neverending grace. He WILL rain down on us! But we have to step into His "rain". And HIS REIGN. We have to purposely place ourselves in Him, get out from the umbrellas that we hide beneath. Get out of our "comfort zone"- which is really stuffy and often suffocating anyway--and do nothing but ASK HIM to rain His peace and grace on our stagnant, dusty hearts. And He always sends the rain.

In Scripture, rain is evidence of God's power, His provision, and even His judgment. He sent rain to cover the earth when it was desperately wicked. He withheld rain for three years in response to disobedience and the evil rule of King Ahab. He sent rain to prove Himself as the one TRUE God.

II Samuel 23 gives record of the last words King David spoke before he died. In verse 4, the Spirit of the LORD spoke through him, of the time coming, when Christ will reign as King over EVERYTHING. And David recognized the Kingdom that was promised him. In his dying breaths, he was looking ahead to that Kingdom. And he described it like this:
"He that rules over men will be JUST, ruling in the fear of GOD. And He will be as the LIGHT OF THE MORNING, when the sun riseth, a MORNING WITHOUT CLOUDS...like the brightness after RAIN, that brings forth the grass from the earth."

Christ's Kingdom will be like rain upon this dry, cracking, dying earth. Only it will be a REIGN never before experienced. All will be new and fresh and growing as it should. And we will be forever saturated in HIS goodness.

RAIN DOWN your love on us And RAIN DOWN your grace RAIN DOWN your love on us And RAIN DOWN your peace And COVER me

CSI: Crime Scene Imagination

So tonight I went out for my nightly walk of the dog. I left just after watching about 20 minutes of Larry King Live—interspersed with parts of an episode of CSI: NY. (I was watching the CSI during the commercials for Larry King… going back and forth between the two channels.) In this particular CSI episode, Stella and Mack were trying to solve an abduction case in which a baby had disappeared, presumably at a murder scene. Yes, I know—I should probably not be watching that. But it seems like it’s always on, and I am too easily sucked in to the stories. I like the forensics and all the “science” woven into the stories—even if it is very fake. But tonight, I did manage to realize that it was a waste of my time, so I turned it off and went out to walk the dog a little before my usual time.

“While I’m at it, I may as well take out the garbage”, I decided. So I approach the dumpster first thing, nonchalantly listening to music as I go, pulling a stubborn sniffing Daisy along beside me, preparing to hike my garbage bag onto the top of our already teeming metal dumpster. As I come close enough to throw the bag in, my eye catches what I know to be a little doll hand- sticking up straight, at the top of the pile. But then I see a second hand, belonging to another “doll” – attached to a little arm- and this time I see the whole doll- and it is SO lifelike- my throat goes down into my stomach for a moment. Instantly, I am in CSI mode in my mind. I’m not kidding. My brain enters into a high-alert state and I begin to imagine “the worst”. I feel a little shaky as I get close enough to really inspect both dolls, to make SURE they are really dolls. Of course, they were.

The one doll had dark hair, it was a little mannequin doll--life-size with VERY realistic features. It reminded me of the kid mannequins in the Old Navy store. It was folded in half with its legs flopped near its head. The other doll was lying down flat, also extremely lifelike, with its little arm up as if reaching out to say, “Help me.” IT FREAKED ME OUT! After ascertaining that INDEED these were NOT human children, I was thinking, “Who would throw dolls like this away, especially right on top like this, where anyone could mistake them for little kids? Especially in the dark like this? Couldn’t they have used a box or SOMEthing to cover them up a little bit?” I gathered my composure enough to say, “Oh, well” –but I still felt uneasy about the whole scare.

This is not the first time my being a CSI crime-solver-wannabe (with an overly vivid imagination) has gotten me into trouble. I’m thinking I had better lay off the CSI watching for awhile. Especially at night just before taking trips out to the dumpster.