Thankful!

Teaching ESL at the University of Tulsa...
was so much fun! The students made every day a new adventure...and the teachers and my boss were also wonderful. I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to teach there this fall session! I taught 5 classes: 2 Reading classes, 2 Listening/Speaking classes, and one Writing class! It was a whirlwind!

Since I am able to bike and swim again, Stephen and I decided that teaching full-time, training to master 3 sports, being a wife, and maintaining a sense of sanity was not possible! It was bitter sweet to leave my job at TU since I realized what an amazing job it was!

For a while now, I have been ultra tired. I thought it was just because I wasn't fit, or the transitions in life: moving, new job, new house, new friendships....ETC. But last week, I got a follow-up blood test and it showed that my thyroid wasn't working properly. Since the thyroid is "the mother of wellness for your whole body and yours is from 3 times to 22 times slower than the normal range", that explains a lot.

As much as I would LOVE to be 100% back to health, I am still literally taking baby steps and feeling thankful for the fact that I can bike and swim without pain, which were things that i haven't been able to do for a while! Now that I'm taking some medicine to crank up my wellness o meter in my body, I will be feeling better soon.

The doctor said, "Affected patients who start taking medication and get back to normal levels realize what living life is supposed to feel like!"
I thought, "Wow - that sounds just like knowing Christ!" :o) Yay for parallels that surround me constantly in the physical & spiritual world!

This Thanksgiving season, as I look back on the past couple years of health drama, I am deeply thankful for the perspective it gives me. More than ever, I will view the opportunity to work hard = a gift from the Lord & any talent/abilities I have = a gift from the Lord! (...unless I take credit for choosing the right parents and creating my circumstances/culture/support to grow up!)...as well as the love & support of my husband, family, friends, & sponsors = a gift from the Lord!

Right now, I don't have a schedule planned out for next year, but plan to fully train & race as a pro triathlete, keeping in mind Proverbs 16:9...

A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

Thank-FULL...
:o) bethany