Greetings, dear adoring public whom I have neglected for so many months now! :) And yet with good reason....I graduate with my Master's degree FIVE WEEKS from Saturday!!!! May I just say that the end that is in sight has never looked so good? It has been quite the journey over the last 2 1/2 years. I had no idea what I was in store for on that first night of class - how much I would learn about myself and have to confront my own pain in the process of helping others. I know it is a journey that will continue for a lifetime, and as painful as it sometimes is, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I don't have a lot of time to write a blog today, so I will put up a post in the somewhat near future (hopefully!) about what my plans are after graduation. Do not fear - I do have some plans, and I am excited to see all that is in store. For now, I am just concentrating on finishing up my last two classes, completing my internship hours, and not losing my mind in the process!
Anyway, on to the purpose of today's blog. Many of you know my famous cat Ellie. Here she is in case you have forgotten or perhaps never met her...
Over the last year, Ellie has developed an odd and terrible habit of ripping out her fur in select places along her back. Most likely it is due to an allergy of some kind, and her skin itches, so she licks it and then pulls the fur out. She has had a striped back a lot lately from where she has patches of fur missing. So in the latest attempt to cure her ailments, the vet gave me flea meds for her - just in case - and oral steriods to give her over a month time period. If I had a video of some of my attempts to feed my cat her meds over these last weeks, I could win some awards. She has not been a fan. At all. I've done all the things you're supposed to do to help calm a cat and render them helpless so you can do what you have to do. But whoever thought you could subdue a determined cat has never met my cat. As I've held her by the scruff of the neck to syringe feed her the meds, she has clenched her jaw shut. I have never ever seen a cat do that. I have had to literally try to force her mouth to open with the syringe so I could get the meds in. I have talked calmly to her. I have told her how much this was going to help her stop itching and feel better. I even fed her treats after so she would associate good with it. And only now, after being near the end has it gotten much better.
As dumb as it might sound, one morning when I was on the floor with my cat mashed to the ground trying to force her jaw open, I had the sudden realization that I am a lot like her. How often do I fight what God is trying to give me because I don't like the taste of it or it hurts or is painful? And how often does He stand over me telling me that in the end, the meds I don't like now are ultimately going to make me so much better?
I sit with so many clients each week, and I think it is human nature and very common to fight against the pain we are in. We do whatever we can to ignore it and numb it. After all, feeling pain sucks. It isn't fun. There is really nothing pleasant about it at all. But at the end of the day, I am learning that the only way to truly find freedom and healing is to first confront our pain, feeling it and processing it so that it can then be let go. For it is our surrender to the process - not the fight against it - that brings peace. And rest. Maybe my cat is finally learning this? Or maybe she just got tired of fighting. :)
More updates to come soon. Love you guys!
I don't have a lot of time to write a blog today, so I will put up a post in the somewhat near future (hopefully!) about what my plans are after graduation. Do not fear - I do have some plans, and I am excited to see all that is in store. For now, I am just concentrating on finishing up my last two classes, completing my internship hours, and not losing my mind in the process!
Anyway, on to the purpose of today's blog. Many of you know my famous cat Ellie. Here she is in case you have forgotten or perhaps never met her...
Over the last year, Ellie has developed an odd and terrible habit of ripping out her fur in select places along her back. Most likely it is due to an allergy of some kind, and her skin itches, so she licks it and then pulls the fur out. She has had a striped back a lot lately from where she has patches of fur missing. So in the latest attempt to cure her ailments, the vet gave me flea meds for her - just in case - and oral steriods to give her over a month time period. If I had a video of some of my attempts to feed my cat her meds over these last weeks, I could win some awards. She has not been a fan. At all. I've done all the things you're supposed to do to help calm a cat and render them helpless so you can do what you have to do. But whoever thought you could subdue a determined cat has never met my cat. As I've held her by the scruff of the neck to syringe feed her the meds, she has clenched her jaw shut. I have never ever seen a cat do that. I have had to literally try to force her mouth to open with the syringe so I could get the meds in. I have talked calmly to her. I have told her how much this was going to help her stop itching and feel better. I even fed her treats after so she would associate good with it. And only now, after being near the end has it gotten much better.
As dumb as it might sound, one morning when I was on the floor with my cat mashed to the ground trying to force her jaw open, I had the sudden realization that I am a lot like her. How often do I fight what God is trying to give me because I don't like the taste of it or it hurts or is painful? And how often does He stand over me telling me that in the end, the meds I don't like now are ultimately going to make me so much better?
I sit with so many clients each week, and I think it is human nature and very common to fight against the pain we are in. We do whatever we can to ignore it and numb it. After all, feeling pain sucks. It isn't fun. There is really nothing pleasant about it at all. But at the end of the day, I am learning that the only way to truly find freedom and healing is to first confront our pain, feeling it and processing it so that it can then be let go. For it is our surrender to the process - not the fight against it - that brings peace. And rest. Maybe my cat is finally learning this? Or maybe she just got tired of fighting. :)
More updates to come soon. Love you guys!
