Here I am at the one year anniversary of when the Lightning Process started working for me as it stopped M.E. in its tracks! I can still remember the moment I felt my body relaxing as the process began working and the next day playing with my hands during the seminar as I realised how relaxed they were! I remember the text I sent on the bus in the morning saying "I think it's working!" And I remember the moment I realised that God had been promising me for years that He was going to heal me and He was finally doing it!
If you've been following my blog you'll have some idea of what I've been doing over the last year. I began walking straight away and now I go aqua-jogging twice a week (which I really enjoy) and try to do a walk on the other days. I also usually go for a walk with my sister in the weekend. Recently I've been increasing the length of my walks but am often limited by time!
In April last year I started a computer course at polytech. We've just had a 2½ month break and are just getting going again for the year. I still have a few units to do to complete the course. I'm really enjoying that too! Although this week we were learning about what happens when you open, edit, print or save a file and how the "input device", the CPU, the RAM and the "output device" all interact. Do I really need to know that? :-\
One thing I won't have mentioned (because it was a secret) is that I had the crazy idea to do some sewing for myself and then to do some for my sisters for Christmas. I haven't done much in the way of sewing for a long time and had forgotten how time-consuming it was! It worked out okay though and I got it all finished about a week before Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas, it was nice to be able to go to church on Christmas Eve and to be able to do some cooking for Christmas dinner and enjoy the day with my well mother :) and other family members.
I'm getting along to church nearly every week and am becoming more involved there.
I "fired" my home help lady about 2 weeks after the LP seminar in February last year and have been doing all my own housework since then. I've also been able to keep more on top of the garden and the roses got a good prune this year.
I can also wash my own car - something that I had to get help with when I was sick.
Now that the secret sewing is out of the way, I have started on the big Spring clean. I've started in the kitchen and am gradually making progress. I did the oven the other day and am glad that's out of the way for now!
And in September last year I started job-hunting. It's a bit of a challenge. There's not a lot of jobs out there and lots of people applying for the ones that are there. I've had a couple of interviews, but no new job yet. I'm still working from home doing phone surveys and am trying to leave the situation in God's hands, knowing that He's got me covered. I've applied for another 3 jobs recently, so here's hoping! and praying!
In December I had an out-of-town funeral to go to. It was so nice to be able to drive that far (4½ hours each way) and feel fine the next day. I also managed to catch up with a few friends while I was away which was really good.
On the 5th February I went to my niece's engagement party and got roped into helping to make sandwiches, etc. in the afternoon as well. I got up and went to church the next morning, something I definitely wouldn't have done before. I wouldn't have been helping out in the afternoon either because I would have been saving all my energy for the party which would have been quite exhausting for me. It would have taken me a few days to recover.
My Mum (who has also recovered from M.E. using the LP this year - see more about her in my last post) was also at the engagement party. She is now running around everywhere and enjoying her new life. She seems to be doing a lot of shopping! She is enjoying being involved in a new church and doing things with the ladies there.
Just to give you some idea of how different my life is from a year ago - on Tuesday this week I got up at 7am and went aqua-jogging, came home and did the laundry, tidied, dusted & vacuumed the flat. On Wednesday morning I got up at 7am again and went to polytech for 3 hours. After that I looked at some things in Farmers, then came home and cleaned the bathroom. I went for a 43 minute walk in the afternoon after mopping the floor. On Thursday I did the grocery and other shopping, some gardening, swept the back and front porches and went for a 48 minute walk. This morning I got up at 7am again and went aqua-jogging for half an hour. I came home and did washing and vacuumed my car and washed it!
Before the Lightning Process seminar this time last year I was sleeping until 10am and getting up much earlier than that was a huge effort. I had a home help lady to do my housework, so I wouldn't have done any of that except for the washing. I definitely didn't do any exercise - the most exercise I used to get was walking around the supermarket or the Warehouse! I wouldn't have been able to go to polytech regularly and definitely not for 3 hours and I wouldn't have been able to concentrate enough to cope with the study. I would have also had short-term memory problems to deal with which now are a thing of the past (either that or I've forgotten about them!). I would probably only have gone out once during the week to do my grocery shopping and maybe 2 or 3 other things while I was out. Then I would have needed to rest for a few days, hoping to make it to church on Sunday and if I did make it to church I would need to rest for another couple of days before doing the shopping!
If you know of anyone with ME/CFS (it's called CFIDS in the States) please let them know about this or feel free to put them in touch with me. I would love to see more people set free from that awful illness that robs people of their lives.
I am so grateful to God for leading me to the Lightning Process. It has definitely given me back my life!
