Do you know God? I mean more than simply crying out “GOD!” or “GOD HELP ME!”? Have you had the opportunity to meet Him in a real way? Are you a born-again Christian?
These days, the dark forces of this world make God out to be unnecessary or outdated or there is no need to worry about God. As a matter of fact, the things of this world which aren’t that important seem to glimmer and glitzy appearing to be the greatest to obtain or have, grabbing our attention.
I have been blessed to have grown up in a Christian home. My father was a Minister of Music for many years and my mother served as a church organist and in various volunteer roles in the church for many years. We were at church every time the doors were open. Yeah, as a kid, I did find that annoying. And, I often wondered why the other kids, later teenagers, weren’t required to be in church every Sunday too. Although, I remember never really asking that question to my parents.
I became a Christian at a very young age. I remember knowing that I wanted to know the God that the preacher that Sunday was talking about. So I prayed the prayer and become a Christian that day. It’s funny, at nearly 60 years old, I can’t remember what I did a few minutes ago or why I came downstairs to my studio for something. However, I still remember that day of becoming a Christian. In my early years in college, I heard remarks about young children becoming a Christian as such a young age probably wasn’t authentic or real as they were not likely to understand what they were doing. Also, a professor said, “You can’t get to heaven on your parent’s coattails, you have to make the decision yourself.” So, just to be sure, as I like to say, I rededicated my life to Christ- making sure I was a Christian.
As life has gone forth, in all its events, challenges, and tragedies, I learned that being in church all that time as a kid and into my youth, and continuing it in my adult life, is a very good thing. As Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) gave me challenges that I didn’t understand, nor did the doctors, I look back now and realize it was God taking care of me. No doubt in my mind it was His Hand helping me.
Though recently I have been diagnosed with a severe case of CMT, and am not sure what the future holds, I have a peace that passes understanding because I know Jesus.
I am thrilled to share with you that I hiked Clingman’s Dome at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, and made it to the top of the tower. Are you surprised? I am, but then again, I’m not.
Clingmans Dome is located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina/Tennessee border. You hike a steep paved incline trail up the hillside to a concrete trail that leads to the dome area. Once there, you have a view of seven states. On a clear day, you can see 100 miles or so. For someone with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), this can be a serious challenge to hike. Visit Clingmans Dome to learn more. As they state, “It is not wheelchair accessible.”
In late May, my wife and I took off for our annual Memorial Day weekend vacation. We enjoy attending the Bill Gaither Homecoming Family Fest in the Smokies at the Gatlinburg Convention Center for a few days of Southern Gospel music. After the concerts, we stay a few days longer so I can enjoy the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains.
This year, since it seems that Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) may be getting worse for me, I decided I wanted to attempt hiking up Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Many years ago when I tried it, I hiked up only a few feet, thereabouts, and determined it was too much. However, since that day, so much has changed healthwise, for the better, I thought I would give it one more try.
A little backstory: Before I attempt hikes anywhere or do any physical workouts which are out of the ordinary, or that could stress my body physically, I prepare for it. Since I walk my dog, Abby, every day in our neighborhood, up and down gravel roads with challenging hills, it has helped me to be prepared for hikes like this one. Fortunately, I have been walking my dogs for many years which has really aided in my ability to do other activities. Also, it doesn’t hurt that I used to take nature hikes through local parks either. I frequent a chiropractor and massage therapist who provides tips on staying healthy and exercising. Though Clingmans Dome was definitely a challenge for me to hike, the preparation helped considerably.
We arrived at Clingmans Dome to find the parking places were full so I began thinking that I’d given it a shot- maybe we’ll just go elsewhere. However, God provided us with a parking spot at a perfect location. Not too far from the trail, restrooms, and gift shop. We were headed to the trail. Needless to say, I was excited to attempt the hike.
While I wish that I was able to select a hike and go for it, with CMT, I am limited and must take that into consideration. For one, I can walk around a half-mile without my braces wearing Crocs or walking shoes. Much further, I should wear my Arizona Braces with hiking boots. However, the Arizona Braces are designed to prevent me from turning my ankles, therefore, they are fairly stiff with little wiggle room. If I wear them walking down a slope or hill, they push a bit forward. If I am not paying attention, it is very easy for me to lose my balance gaining speed as I walk downhill. My wife saved me from what could have been a disastrous fall while walking down a hill in Baltimore not realizing ahead of time what could happen. I decided to wear my Hoka One One (no affiliation) walking shoes for this hike. They would offer comfort and stability.
I started my hike using a pair of ski poles my chiropractor suggested I use. I quickly learned they were excellent for helping me with stability. I wish that I could say that I made the hike since it is only a half-mile without stopping or sitting down on any benches. However, I found the benches the National Park Service placed along the trail to be quite a blessing and most definitely took advantage of them. I hiked until I needed to sit down, then started again. I tried not to use every single bench just so I could at least say I didn’t use every single bench. The view was incredible and made the hike so worth the effort. And, the amazing part is I completed the hike with no pain in my feet at all.
Along the way, I had the blessing of meeting several nice people while enjoying beautiful views of nature. I met a nice family from Pennsylvania who spent time at Cades Cove where they saw sixteen bears. I have to admit, I was slightly jealous because I’ve only seen one or two, maybe three, when I’ve been there. Their young boy was so happy to share his photos of the bears he saw with me it made my day. Also, when I reached the top of the tower, the father shared some very kind words of encouragement. He is a Christian and shared his faith. That warmed my heart. Also, he said he knows most people in my situation wouldn’t have even attempted this hike. He was happy to see me do it. His comments helped make my struggles up the hill more of a blessing.
Why am I not surprised that I was successful in the hike? I believe in a powerful God who made promises to me when I was in my twenties that He would be my strength and ability throughout my living with Charcot-Marie-Tooth. He has fulfilled that promise for 30+ years, He’s not stopping anytime soon. I will say, if the hike was something that I should not be attempting, God would have made me realize that too.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth affects all of us differently. Though I have been recently diagnosed with one of the more severe cases that my doctor has seen, I know my own abilities and have talked with a medical professional about exercising and workouts. Be sure to talk to your doctor before attempting any hikes or new exercise routines.
A huge “THANK YOU!” to all the people who made this day possible. Without the forefathers who sought to make this country great and all those who have followed after to continue our freedoms… THANK YOU!
For me, going to fireworks and large gatherings has become something that I cannot physically do anymore. As you know, walking is challenging enough and my Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) has a nerve component which makes some things more challenging as it progresses.
Loud noises, chaos, crowds, and the like associated with July 4th events cause me quite the discomfort and challenges enjoying the event. Since I haven’t been one who enjoys these events very much to start with, I don’t feel it is much loss.
However, it is something that you enjoy but the large events are a challenge for you, try to find a smaller event like in a small town or park. Maybe a neighborhood has a celebration you can enjoy. Or, do you have a friend with a deck or yard where you can sit and enjoy watching fireworks? When I was younger, my girlfriend who is now my wife, had an apartment where we could sit in her living room watching the fireworks show in Washington D.C.. Though we couldn’t see everything, like some of the ground displays, we saw quite a bit which made it fun. And, no crowds.
Happy Father’s Day to all the father’s in this awesome universe. Whether you are the father of your own children, a step-father, or a man who steps into that role for a child or two. Since I am a dog and cat lover at heart, always like to wish the animal father’s a “Happy Father’s Day” too.
My father passed away seven years ago now. I miss him and think of him often so I find myself glad that I spent time enjoying his company throughout our lives together. As society seems to make fathers to be less important than they really are, I like to think of the many teachings and gifts my father gave me as a child.
A teaching I will always cherish and be forever grateful for is my father taught me about God, Christianity, and the Bible. He made sure we knew about God, and took us to church every Sunday, Wednesday night, and revival services. He made sure my brother and I knew about heaven and the choice we had to make before we died. And, that we don’t know when death will come so we shouldn’t put it off. The choice? Where we want to spend eternity. It’s our choice. God will not force His Will on us so we decide. What would it be, heaven or hell? As a Christian, I am thankful for God’s Love for me and grateful my father showed me the way.
An indirect gift from my father was his love for music. He liked to joke that I was born during the playing of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture but I never figured out how he had music playing while I was being born. Anyway, he played a lot of classical music, church music, and Southern Gospel, especially Bill Gaither, around the house. Over the years, I have gotten to where I love my classical music playing whenever I am working or reading. I enjoy church music and Southern Gospel music and usually play it when doing my gardening, household chores, or cleaning my studio. Also, for me, music is a good retreat from the chaos of life. I have found that when I stress if I turn on some classical music, my body will often relax.
There are many memories of my father that I could write about for many pages of text. I hope you have an awesome day with your father. If you aren’t able to get together with your father, be sure to give him a call to him know you love him. If you aren’t speaking to your father for whatever reason, whoever’s fault it is, get over it and give him a call. Life is too short not to share the love with your father. For those, like me, whose father has gone to heaven with Jesus, reflect on the good memories of your father as the day goes on. Maybe you know someone whose children live across the country and cannot get together with them. Why not take them to lunch?
My mother passed away a little over eleven years ago. I still miss her quite a bit, especially when I start planting perennials and annual flowers around this time of year. She had the “green thumb” in our family and taught me quite a bit about gardening. Of course, every Mother’s Day, I think about her and miss her.
I inherited Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) from my mother’s side of the family. My uncle, aunt, grandmother, and great-grandmother had it too. Mom was always concerned that I would let CMT discourage me and not accomplish much in life if I allowed the symptoms to become my focus. So she always, and I mean always, encouraged me to keep going and never give up.
I miss her encouragement. She would be proud to see that I took her advice and that I never gave up. A mother’s love for a child with CMT is one of the most important aspects of the child’s life.
With my mother being deceased, I won’t be celebrating the day, but I would like to wish all mothers a very blessed day. If your mother is still living, be sure to take the time to celebrate the day with her.
Happy Spring! It is finally here. Although I have to admit, that was the fastest winter season I have ever been through in my life. Maybe it’s because it didn’t really stay cold the entire season like it so often does. Also, being retired, I don’t have to go out in it to fight snow/ice to or from the office. Or, it could be as you get older, time goes by faster… I will leave that one alone.
The winter season was different for me this year too. Since we moved south, I was curious how much our weather might be different though the move was only an hour away. We have more snow and colder temperatures by up to 5 degrees. Well, we are near the mountains which affect the weather. Also, not being in town with concrete and asphalt will affect temperatures too. Last summer, we were warmer than the northern area but not as nearly as hot.
Either way, it’s Spring. The warm weather is on its way. I will be outside enjoying as much of it as I can. I hope you do too.
My favorite time of year is coming soon. Tomorrow begins Daylight Saving Time at 3 a.m. Of course, I think I will sleep right through it until time to get up for church at 6 a.m.
This is my favorite time of year because it means if we have snow or other wintry weather, it will melt sooner than in the winter months, warmer days are coming, and I happen to enjoy the extra hours of sunlight at the end of the day. Before I retired, I especially enjoyed it because I could come home from work and enjoy the outdoors a few hours before dark. Also, it meant days off in warm weather were coming soon!
Tonight before bed, turn the clocks one hour forward. “Spring Forward!”
Oh, my word! One of the worst physical feelings when living with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) is cold feet in the winter months. If you haven’t experienced it, most likely you will. It seems to be almost impossible to avoid. This followed by the challenges of getting my feet warm again.
When I was younger, probably in my twenties, there weren’t many resources to help CMT patients. You learned what you did by thinking about ways to help yourself or by asking others their opinions. Sometimes a doctor or physical therapist will have ideas. I had family members whom I could ask questions.
First, you have to realize that cold feet are not the typical cold feet that other people have. Since the nerve endings in our extremities, hence legs and feet, are not working as they should, we experience neuropathy which allows our feet to get cold.
For me, learning to keep my feet warm, and stay warm, was quite a bit of trial and error. My favorite trick was double socks. In the mornings when my feet were still warm, I would put on two pairs of my favorite comfortable tube socks. Simple enough, right?
Wrong.
When you put on the first pair of socks, be sure to align the far point of the sock with your big toe. With a new pair of socks, especially tube or athletic, you may not notice where the big toe should go. With these, you use your best judgment and adjust accordingly. When you use this pair next time, you’ll know. Next, pull the socks up toward your knee. Do the same with the other foot. Before you put on the second pair of socks, stand up. Take a minute to walk around making sure that your feet are absolutely comfortable in the socks. Also, make sure that there are no wrinkles. Once you are comfortable in the first pair of socks, put on the second pair following the same procedure.
Why do all of that for putting on your socks? You will thank me for this. If you do not do that, it’s very possible that the socks will either not be aligned properly or have wrinkles or both. At first, I didn’t do this routine, I just put my socks on and went out the door.
Within a short period of time, I was surprised to find myself having horrible pain in my feet. However, since I was out, there wasn’t much I could about it until I got home. When I got home, I found the socks to be wrinkled and turned.
The next day I paid serious attention to the manner in which I put on my socks. The pain wasn’t happening again if I could help it.
The second pair of socks can be another pair of tube socks, dress socks, or outdoor socks which keep feet warmer in the cold weather. When the sock industry began making socks for every season, reason, or whatever that could possibly be, I found pairs that kept my feet warm without a second pair. I’ll share those in another post.
I am a little late this year with my New Year’s post, having had several life events come up. However, there are a few things I would like to share so I decided to publish it anyway.
I rarely look forward to New Year’s Day because it means the month of January has started and February is not far behind. Traditionally, these two months bring colder weather, ice, and snowstorms. Since I live in a new area now, I’m not sure what weather to expect this season. I understand living close to the mountains will mean a colder and snowier winter.
Do you make resolutions for the New Year? I do. Every year that I can remember, which admittedly is limited since at my age I have a hard time remembering yesterday, I have made New Year’s Resolutions.
Why do I make New Year’s resolutions? The main is the reason is that it provides me a goal to reach in the coming months. I write them down so I can refer to them throughout the year and do a mid-year evaluation. Also, January 1 is a great place to start.
A secret to success when dealing with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) is this: By making resolutions, writing them down, and having them available throughout the year, you will be more likely to succeed even in your exhausting moments. I know for me, when the exhaustion hits, I feel like giving up. By focusing on my resolutions, I keep focused and don’t give up.
My first and foremost resolution is to learn more about God, continue attending church every week, studying, and reading the Bible. Following through with this resolution will feed the spiritual side of me throughout the year. A good spirit is a healthy one.
My second resolution is to continue loving my wife and furry kids throughout the year. I need to show them expressions of love as well as take care of myself and my responsibilities. Sometimes, I get very busy with chores and don’t always remember to show love to them. Every once in a while, I forget, or skip, walking my dog as well as show her affection. I’ll focus on sharing love first, chores later.
A third resolution which I renew every year is to focus on fighting CMT as best that I can. Basically, this means I will keep doing the exercise programs which worked for me over the last year. The program I developed has been successful in keeping me one step ahead of the CMT progression.
This year, I am adding a new resolution. Last year, I returned to my hobby of reading. I was surprised when I realized that it’s been quite some time since I read a book. I managed to read four books by year’s end along with numerous railfanning magazines about railroad history. My chiropractor mentioned that reading is a very good habit for a CMT patient to do. Apparently, the nerves which CMT effect, and lead to problems in our extremities, can possibly affect the brain too. I didn’t know that and haven’t read about it yet. However, if simply reading is going to help, why not?
A final note: When I make resolutions, I do my absolute best to follow through with them. However, stuff happens which may interfere with my goals. Instead of beating myself up or considering myself a failure, I pick up where I left off and go from there. Failure would be completely abandoning the goals.
Several years ago, I heard a cute Christmas song sung by a group of children at my church. The main verse or thought of the song was “Happy Birthday Jesus!” Over the years, I have known some friends who use the greeting and have grown to like it quite a bit. After all, Christmas is the Birthday of Jesus.
The Birthday of Jesus was an incredibly phenomenal Gift from God to man. He came to earth, lived 33 years teaching about God, and was crucified on a cruel cross to save man from his sins. While it is as simple as that, there are a few things you must do to receive God’s Forgiveness. First, you have to believe in Jesus, confess your sins, and begin following Him.
If you would like to learn more about Jesus, God, and the Bible, please visit Peace With God.
So Happy Birthday, Jesus! I am happy you were born.
