Small Success by Susan L.

  I missed doing my post yesterday due to some technical difficulties. God it resolved. (How's that for a divinely inspired typo! The word was supposed to be "got". It just might become my new catch phrase!)
  We had rehearsal last night. I went with some trepidation. It's always tough returning to a place where there's been a melt down. 
  On the drive over, a brief prayer put me under the wings of the Almighty. A thermos of tea with lemon verbena in it replaced my usual plain water. It helps calm me. The flavour and the warmth also help ground me in the moment. Oh, and I wore a comfy flannel shirt, another grounding tool: feeling the soft fabric next to my skin. As is the team leader's standard poodle when he comes over for an ear scratch. It helps me as much as he enjoys the attention. Touch and focusing on the texture of anything has always worked as a way to turn down what's happening inside my head and body.
  It's important to override bad memories by making new ones especially when simply being somewhere is triggering. As much as anxiety is so much part of my life, I don't want it to rob me of opportunities to grow and heal. So last night was good memory making. The ghosts of two weeks ago were challenged and silenced. Praise God!
  I'll take the same tea with me for tomorrow's service and, of course, lean into the Lord's protection. The tea also helps with having a dry mouth when plain water didn't seem to help. It could be nerves or due to my meds but it makes playing the flute like trying to whistle after eating a soda cracker. I am glad the tea serves the purpose.
  Things are looking up!
  "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who were sanctified." Acts 20:32