The Most Important Thing

This week was spring break at the college where I am employed part time, and I had it all planned out.  While many of my colleagues were planning beach trips and other spring break outings, my plan was to spend the whole week doing the work I love so much, practicing the laying on of hands and changing lives through Chiropractic care.  Now since my hours at the college had just been reduced even further, I was planning to increase my practice time from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 days per week after spring break anyway.

To be totally honest, it did cross my mind to stay at 2 1/2 days the week of spring break and enjoy some down time on the other days.  I could have easily done that since I did not have any patients scheduled on my off days.  However, the voice of “reason” convinced me that since the college was no longer my primary source of income, I should do the “responsible” thing and start the 4 1/2 day week early. Because of our location we tend to attract quite a few walk in patients, so I figured I could at least gain a few new patients on the off days.   Sounded like a great idea to me.

Monday morning rolled around and we were all up and preparing to head out the door.  Suddenly my 4 1/2 year old son who was in the bathtub at the time began to cry saying that his tummy hurt.  He asked me to pray for him.  I am almost ashamed to admit that I prayed a rather halfhearted prayer once I got him out of the tub, handed him his clothes and told him to hurry and get dressed because mama was running late.  A few minutes later when I came to check on him he was lying on his bed still naked and crying.  It was then that I realized that he felt rather warm and it occurred to me that maybe he was really sick.  The thermometer confirmed it.  His temperature was 102.8, and so I knew I would be staying home with him that day.

At first I was kind of resentful (Not proud of that attitude either) that his illness was ruining my plans.  I spent the entire first day frantically trying to nurse him back to health so that I could get back to the office as soon a possible but it didn’t happen that way.  In fact the fever proved to be more stubborn than I had hoped and for three days his temperature fluctuated between 101 and 104 degrees.

Sometime on the second day, Matthew 6:33 came to me:  “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  The light suddenly came on and it was as if the Holy Spirit was asking me at that moment, “What is more important, the work you love, or the child you love?”  Instantly I was was humbled and convicted by my selfishness and misplaced priorities.  After all, this was the child I had prayed long and hard for, my miracle baby, conceived late in life.  I never imagined I could love anyone so fiercely (taking nothing away from my dear husband of course) until I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy.  While I do believe that pursuing our calling can be a work of the kingdom of God that brings glory to him, it also says in the Bible that anyone who fails to take care of the needs of his own family is worse than an unbeliever.  One thing I was certain of… I did NOT want to be that person.  Plus, what values would I be communicating to my son if I put all of my time and energy into taking care of other people’s needs to exclusion of his?

From that point on my attitude changed from one of seeing his illness as an obstacle to pursuing the work I love to giving my best in caring for and connecting with the child I loved and being present for him.  On the third day although the fever had not yet broken, he felt well enough that we were even able to enjoy a short mommy and son outing.  At the end of it all, I think he really appreciated the one on one time with mommy, and I appreciated the down time and felt blessed that I was getting to spend both quality and quantity time with him.

So what does this experience have to do with natural health and wellness?  I believe that one of the ways to achieve abundant health is by freely and unselfishly loving and caring for others, beginning with the ones whom God has entrusted to our care.  Caring and nurturing my son in this way, not only helped him to heal but I believe God also used that time to do a special work in my own heart.

I am happy to report that my little man is all better now and today (Thursday) was my first full day back at the office.   I was also blessed to witness the “and all these things will be given to you as well” part of Matthew 6:33 in action today.  Today was my busiest day ever since I first started back into practice in January and I even started 6 new patients in addition to my regularly scheduled ones.   The take home from this experience and what I am learning each day is that Father really does know best, and that even in pursuing my calling I should never become so focused on the gifts that I fail to stay connected to the Giver of every good and perfect gift and become insensitive to his voice and his leading.  Selah!

Can you Hear me Now? The Basics of Chiropractic

Communication is a part of life.  Whether spoken word, written word, sign language, a certain touch or facial expression or various forms of digital communication messages always being transmitted. Likewise as long as we are living, communication is always taking place within our bodies.  This type of internal body communication is not limited to the conscious forms of transmission previously mentioned and does not even depend on our being awake.  It happens automatically from the moment of conception and continues until we take our last breath.

You may have heard it said that it is not so much what you say but how you say it.  A spoken request may be either be gladly obliged or resentfully resisted depending on the tone of voice, facial expressions etc. that are used.  In written or digital communication, a misplaced punctuation mark can change the whole meaning of a well meaning message. On the flip side, a message communicated with non-malicious intent may also be misinterpreted and taken instead by the receiver as offensive.  Though this is a common occurrence in most relationship, it can still prove to be quite frustrating.

Internal communication within the body may for various reason also be distorted so that the intended transmission is not interpreted as intended by the receiver.  As a Doctor of Chiropractic this is of utmost importance to me and here’s why….

The central nervous system is the system of the body that transmits, receives and integrates vital information in order to coordinate the functions of the body.  It is made up of the brain, spinal cord and spinal nerves.  The brain is encased in the skull and the spinal cord is passes through a canal created by the column of bones known as the spinal column.  Twenty-four of these segments are moveable.  In between the segments are openings where the spinal nerve roots branch off of the spinal cord and branch further to send nerve fibers to all parts of the body.  The intervertebral discs are soft fibrous structures between the vertebra that facilitate movement of the spine, act as the “glue” that holds the segments together, and help provide proper spacing between the vertebrae and associated structures.  When everything is working together in harmony we have a wonderfully created communication network within the body.

  
A number of factors may disturb this delicate balance however, causing interference to this system.  As doctor of Chiropractic my primary concern and area of expertise is with those interferences to the body’s communication that are caused by imbalances within the spine known as vertebral subluxations.
As previously stated, the vertebral segments have the capacity to move.  The may even seem to misalign at times; however, 4 major things must occur in order for the central nervous system to be compromised by such movement.

*One or more spinal segment(s) move out of alignment and get “stuck” due to some physical or chemical trauma or even physiological changes due to emotional stress.

*Passageways through which the spinal cord and spinal nerves pass become narrowed as a result,

* The resultant cramped passageways cause irritation to the delicate spinal cord and

*This interferes with and compromises nerve signals being transmitted within the system.

Left uncorrected these can not only cause pain and impaired motion but can also adversely affect bodily function.  Many times the effects are subtle and may or may not include pain.  As such they may be attributed to such things as aging, fatigue, or stress.  While these things may play a part and should not be taken for granted, it is also possible that your internal communication may not be at 100% due to vertebral subluxation.

I visited a chiropractor for the first time at age 25 due to a shoulder injury.  My shoulder healed up within 2 weeks of care but what I also discovered was that my migraine headaches started becoming less and less frequent, I had more energy, and just felt better overall.  I had always attributed the headaches, fatigue, and lack of get up and go to working third shift and attending college full time.  While these things did play a part and eventually I DID have to re-order some things in my life, once my internal communication became more balanced, I found that my body was better able to deal with these stresses.

As a doctor of chiropractor I am committed to finding and correcting vertebral subluxations to help your body communicate and function the way it was intended.   Chiropractic adjustments are corrective noninvasive forces that place the bones back into their proper alignment so that the central nervous system is able to function normally to allow the body to heal itself.

Finally as a chiropractor, my mission is to empower you as the patient to partner with me in your care by taking responsibility for your own health, making healthier choices, and to taking a firm stand against poor health.  Nurturing your body with a good healthy diet, regular exercise, adequate rest and recreation, proper posture, healthy relationships, a strong and meaningful faith, and stress management can go a long way in helping your adjustments achieve their intended purpose and can even help to make your body more resistant to vertebral subluxation.  This helps you to be 100% present for all those things and people that mean the most to you.   Sound like a plan?  Let’s get started!