"Devil, go sit on a TACK!"

As a little girl, when my mom would see me start acting up or misbehaving, she would say, "It's the old DEVIL, up to no good! You tell him to go SIT ON  A TACK!"

Her words have stuck with me to this day. When struggles in my life seem like they're getting out of hand or my "thinking" ability is leaning in a wrong direction, I hear Mom speaking those words she taught me so long ago. I use them still and crazy as it seems, THEY HELP!!
 
So here I am in this horrendous pain cycle that just seems to be going downhill fast!  Another night of no sleep and walking the floor, sitting in the dark and struggling through this battle, determined not to let PAIN be the victor. I felt weak and tired from the battle and truly at a point where I just wanted to give up! Suddenly I heard those WORDS ..."DEVIL,GO SIT ON A TACK!!" So I spoke them out LOUD with a renewed strength in my soul, then I prayed: "God, please HELP me through this night." HE did, and PAIN did not beat me yet.
 
Trust me, I'm no saint, just a woman who had a terrible accident and is left to battle chronic pain for the rest of my life. As this battle wears on, I know there are TRUE choices I can make, and my choice is to battle the PAIN daily. When I went to my local church this morning, not really caring to be there because all I could do was still HURT, I found my moment of JOY. Among the people, I saw an older couple  who'd recently been through a terrible health scare. The wife had had a heart problem which led to a lengthy hospital stay. I recognized the concern in the husband's voice as he kept asking her, "Are you OKAY?"  YES, she growled at him, I AM FINE! Laughter filled my heart because it was just like a moment between my husband and me!

Joy–I will take it ANY DAY over the PAIN!!