I am sharing this and also sharing a bit about my own journey - I would love to have you take a moment to read both. This article is a great read, especially for women, but it may resonate with a few men as well. Very sad when people judge so harshly. I hope that a few of those judgmental people read this article and stop and think before they speak. Warning - What I have written may make you feel uncomfortable. It may make you think I am looking for attention. It may make you feel like you need to do something for me. All I am doing is looking for a bit of patience and love for myself and others who suffer in silence. This is my own personal journey....... I, Micky Cook Odenwalder, have lost almost 60 pounds by changing my diet as well as many other things. I am constantly studying and asking others for advice to assist me in being more healthy. Exercise is extremely difficult for me, because of some health conditions which I have had for over 20 years. I have had six surgeries in the last year, not a bypass, or a tummy tuck among them. In fact I lost all of the weight before the unplanned surgeries. My body is disproportionate and does not look perfect, but I am doing my best to love it and keep eating healthy. I am going to keep working on being the very best me that I can be, as do many others that I know. I also participated in a clinical research study this year to assist myself and others in a new diagnosis that I was recently given. Yes it was credible, done by one of the best doctors in this field in the United States. I was once someone who loved to ski, hike and run. Oh how I would love to put on my skis and hit the slopes, they did not even have snowboards when I was last skiing. How I would love to go outside for a hard run, rather than a gentle walk. This year I was able to hike for the first time in over 20 years, thus I give myself kudos for each step and moment of progress. Many people that I am around on a daily basis have no idea that I even have any health issues. I do my best to either disguise it or just push through it. Some people I know are fully aware of my health issues, but choose not to believe me or others like me. People often tell me that I dont look sick. This could be on a day when I am experiencing great pain or I have had little sleep the night before. Do I want to look sick? No! I forgive those who say such things, how would they know. I get up and put my makeup on, dress up and head to work. I have a job where I work Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I work this job so I can rest on the days I have off. It took me about four years to tell my boss that I have any illness at all, let alone that I have multiple illnesses. Why did it take me so long? Because I had heard him speak about people like me with little or no understanding. People may judge me because my house is not tidy, yet they do not know that I am doing the best I can. They may think I am lazy, that I spend too much time on facebook. I want you to think about this. Next time I am on facebook a lot, it could be because I am having a very bad day. On facebook I do not find outward judgment most of the time. I can reach out to people like myself who are suffering with illnesses worse than mine. I can do my best to cheer others up or cheer them on. I can send them private messages, just to let them know how very much I love and appreciate them. This is who I am! I am not ashamed of who I am! I love myself, which is a constant battle I work on, loving myself. Sometimes we are harder on ourselves than others are. In the past I have taken a few vacations where I spent every other day in a wheelchair or at the motel, just so I could enjoy the next day. This year I was able to enjoy every day of our trip to Europe (first time for such a vacation for me). I am not wealthy, it was an opportunity of a lifetime for us. I love to be silly and funny. Many have no clue that humor is how I get through life many days. I would do what I could for a friend or family member, though I may be judged for how I do it or what I do. Sometimes I am more outspoken than I maybe could be, but that is who I am. I am passionate about many things in life. One of those things is finding my relatives in every corner of the world. I love family more than anything. I love knowing that we share the same amazing ancestors, that we have common roots. I love seeing the similar features in the faces of my relatives, I love learning that they are stubborn, passionate and silly like I am. I love to connect with people that I have known throughout my life and rekindle friendships. I love to dance and I may dance until my body aches terribly and I can hardly breath. I will possibly pay for that choice for days. I love to garden and have grown wonderful flower gardens in the past. The last few years were difficult and I grew wonderful weeds. Why am I telling you this? Because this is who I am. I am not ashamed of who I am, in fact I am pretty happy that I can do what I can. I am pretty happy to know, if I cant accomplish something today, maybe I can tomorrow. May we never judge, as we do not know what path someone has been down. You do not know what is happening in their life. You do not know how hard they may be trying just to make it through the next day, hour or minute. May we all be a little bit kinder and gentler with each other. I love to smile at people, just to see if they will smile back. May we all do what we can to make this world a little brighter for ourselves and others. Most of all, I am grateful for a loving Savior. Yes I do believe in Christ. Yes I do believe he died for me. Yes I am grateful for his atoning sacrifice not just for me, but for you. The knowledge of the atonement brings me great joy. I know that someday I will no longer be in pain. Someday I will no longer be extremely tired or get my words confused. I believe that someday I will be able to run again and feel the wind in my face. Maybe I will even have the opportunity to ski the slopes in the big sky upstairs. I dont know all of the answers, but I myself will do my best not to judge. I am not perfect at it, as sometimes I find myself judging those who judge. A lesson to be learned for me indeed. God bless each of you in your journey through life. May you be blessed with happiness and in your trials may you learn the lessons that God has in mind for you.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 23:52:17 +0000
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