Recovering from my childhood abuse has taken much of my time and energy over the last few years.  My soul was in a fog at times as I learned how to set (and respect) boundaries, recognize my anger and its consequences and allow myself to place my emotions where they belong.  All this was part of my determined effort to become a better person, wife and mom. 

With God’s grace, my journey of recovery has changed me.  I am truly a different person.  The drawback, however, is my physical health took a back seat to my emotional health.  It’s common for trauma victims to struggle with various pain related and auto-immune conditions and I am no exception.  Fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism and chronic pain have shadowed me for some time now.  The thyroid was a straight forward issue.  The fibromyalgia and chronic pain, however, nagged at me until I finally had to address them as well.

I’ve been working with a naturopath on these issues, and she suggested I try an IV infusion treatment to specifically address the fibromyalgia.  I have a venous needle phobia (give me a shot, but no IVs or blood draws, thank you very much) and begged off for several months.  Then I finally realized I was once again giving in to misplaced fears, so I agreed to try it.  After a few months of this I can say the treatment has been immensely helpful.  My pain is down, my energy is up and  I’ve even gone hiking three weekends in a row! 

Denny Creek Wagon Trail

Last weekend my husband and I hiked at Crystal Mountain Ski Resort, southeast of Seattle.  We’d hoped for a clear view of Mt. Rainier’s splendor, but alas, heavy fog rolled in and we were denied this vista.  The fog forced us to notice what was right under our noses instead of just being absorbed with the bigger, better, more Majestic Mountain. We discovered an intricate miniature highway, traveled by thousands of ants leading us to an enormous anthill. There were 6 elk grazing along the way, a waterfall hidden in the dense forest, deer tracks aplenty, berry bush leaves burning red and the occasional fireweed blossom.

Fog on Crystal Mountain

 

Fall Color

Eventually we turned to hike back down the mountain, sorry to have missed Mt. Rainier, but were also happy to have seen other splendors of nature.  When we were almost all the way down, the fog cleared and we saw hawks soaring above us and beautiful meadows below.  I think the dissipating fog gave us a greater appreciation for the spectacular view.

Crystal Mountain Ski Resort

It reminds me of the saying that once your life has changed, you see everything differently.  Everything is exactly the same, yet it’s completely different.  Kind of like coming out of the fog.

How about you?  Have you ever come out of a fog and seen things differently?