Praise and glory

I feel so much better. Wow.

I think in the midst of doing battle with the last migraine spiral, I'd sort of lost track of many things. First, how long it'd been since my pain level was not eclipsing other parts of my life (a week ago Saturday, as I count back now). Second, how much of my life falls away when I hurt -- church, certainly, and clearly writing, but also keeping up with my house and going to the gym. That leads to my eating worse and getting poorer quality sleep. All of which in their way serve to fuel the headaches and perpetuate the cycle. It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation, but as the migraine spiral lengthens and the headaches persist, it's hard to tell where the causal agent stops and the side effects start.

The most recent spiral spun pretty well out of control Friday afternoon. I had to bail out of the PCRT conference before the evening session and missed all of yesterday's teaching (wah! Steve Lawson AND Jerry Bridges!). By the time last night rolled around, I was beginning to think that maybe, this time, finally, the headache just wouldn't ever go away. Ever. Like, this was just going to be how things would be for the rest of my life. This was not a good thought to ponder as I wandered the house Saturday, lolling on the couch, gobbling various meds and coffee, and crying a little.

I don't know what happened over night. I'm not sure if it was Artie's gentle rubbing of my neck and shoulders on Friday that began the denouement, or if watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone before bed relaxed me to the point that I was able to sleep well; it could be that the Lord graciously answered sweet Colette's prayers that my pain would ease so I could come back to church. In any case, I woke up this morning, for the first time in more than a week, completely pain free. Completely. Not a niggle, not a twinge -- nothing.

I danced out of bed. Danced and sang in the shower. Danced out to the car and into church. And hugged nearly everyone I crossed paths with. I was thrilled to go to Safeway with the crazy hordes of weekend shoppers. Ecstatic to tackle laundry and other long-neglected chores that have left my home somewhat randomized. Atwitter at the thought of going to the gym this afternoon, after a six-week lapse between the Dreaded Cold of Doom and then the last headache. It just feels so good to feel good!

Thank you, God.