I love the quietness of late December. Time to just relax and spend time indoors, dreaming about gardens and planning animal husbandry changes. Time to start new handwork projects, too. It’s a bit odd this year, though, because I ought to be feeling a babe moving by now in my womb. I partly blame myself; I checked my hormone levels “just in case” and began immediately on a wild yam cream because my progesterone levels were in the tank. Well, I’ve since found out that wild yam isn’t going to cut it, and furthermore…..I discovered black cohosh in the ingredient list! That is a herb used to stimulate the uterus! I felt defeated when I found out, because I *know better*. I’ve used and played with herbs long enough. But sometimes mistakes just happen. Sometimes lessons are hard.
My husband decided not to relist our house for sale, because at this point we’d come out with meager change to sell it. It feels like a disappointment; the road to debt-free living was cut short. We feel we made a mistake in taking on a mortgage, and now we’re stuck with it. Again, lessons aren’t always pleasant.
But what is pleasant still are the little things of the day: lentil-barley stew on the stovetop, sourdough bread rising on the counter, the kitty curled by my feet, letters in the mail. The cuckoo clock tick-tocking. Handwork. A hot cup of herbal tea held between my palms. The bubbling joy of my children and rubbing their chilled hands when they come in from the cold. My husband’s strength and his integrity to always do what is right in going forward.
I’m grateful for the pleasant things. They seem so humble but because they are God’s blessings, the troubles and mistakes are robbed a bit of their volume. Peace on earth, indeed.
Blessings,
You mentioned you checked your hormones, was this with a kit you can do at home? EvaM
Hi EvaI got my hormone levels checked through my naturpathic doctor. It was a month long saliva test. I thought it was fascinating to see the actual lines of hormonal levels throughout my cycle mapped out. I will say that there is a *lot* of information out there regarding hormone treatments: which tests are best, what kind of cream to use or not use (if using a cream at all), how many mg is "enough" etc etc etc. There seems to be much discussion and disagreement, and I do wonder how much of this is just the fad o' the day. I also wonder if we can correct these imbalanced hormone levels via methods that don't involve having anyone hooked on a product. I don't know much, but I do know these therapies have helped a lot of women, and I personally think it is worth checking out if you're suffering from moodiness (are you a prickly pear?) or fatigue or menstral cramps (or miscarriages), etc.That being said, I think it's always wise to check out your hormone levels before starting out on any program and not just assume that this supplementation is something you need.Won't it be wonderful in heaven to throw out all the tackle boxes of supplements and just enjoy the living tree fruit? Warmly,Keri Mae
I wonder how much of these things are more for the manufacturer’s benefit than ours. More hype than real help. God made our bodies to mainly function on their own. He is the Designer. I am skeptical for example with progesterone cream if it really is beneficial. And for those who say it helps, I sometimes wonder if it is more of a placebo effect. Maybe it does really help them, if so, that is great. I have used prog. cream here and there through the years, but am not sure if it is really doing anything. Yes, it will be wonderful to be in Heaven with our Lord and not have any of this to “worry” about. ~EM