Menu Home

What a leaf fossil taught me about pain

By on • ( 12 Comments )

A new month already and cooler days will be here soon.

On a short stroll with Ellis yesterday, we found these leaf fossils on the sidewalk. How does something so delicate imprint on something as hard as concrete? The details are intricate and the shapes distinct. I wish I could tell you what kind of tree these leaves are from. (If you know, please share.)

It’s been a long week with the leg pain that bothered me from the beginning of this year. It started with knee pain that aggravated the leg, probably from compensating for the knee. This has made simple tasks painful and strenuous, and kids don’t fully understand that mommy needs to rest. They rest alongside me, but they forget why we’re resting and jump on me.

I have this assumption that if my physical body hurts, then I am unproductive and useless. Pretty dumb to think that, but when simply bending down shoots pain up my legs, I wonder if it’s true. It’s when I’m vulnerable that the devil uses lies like this to wear me down.

God never lets me down…He didn’t have to show me but He probably knew I’d spend the rest of the day angry that maybe I could’ve prevented this pain. This flare up gets triggered when I try to do too much and hold Ellis like she’s still a baby. With her 3 year heart anniversary last week, I went overboard and held her a lot. She’s 39 pounds.

I should’ve known this was going to happen.

After the short stroll, I called the doctor and was told a cancellation opened up an availability. Can I get there in an hour? Yep, I’ll be there. Result: inflammation of the muscles; take anti-inflammatory medication for the next 2 weeks. I wish I didn’t have the pain at all, but God teaches me patience and acceptance of things I cannot change.

Love who I am, the way I am.

These leaf imprints remind me of human spirit’s resilience even in tough circumstances. We leave a mark when it seems like life is tossing and turning with no anchor. I thank God for showing us this random fossil. Confirmation that a tender leaf is strong and can alter an impenetrable surface.

Categories: Faith journey Personal growth Raising kids

Tagged as:

singlikewildflowers

Welcome to my blog! My name is Esther and I'm so happy you are here. I'm an avid nature photographer and a daydreaming thinker. My posts revolve around photos of nature's beauty, homeschooling adventures with my 2 kids, sporadic reflections on my child's heart condition, Bible reading reflections, gardening feats, and other mish mash things. Hopefully you'll leave encouraged, pensive, or smiling at the simple things of life. Thank you for stopping by and hope you'll find some interesting posts to read!

12 replies ›

    1. T-Rex “Stan” sounds impressive! It is almost a complete fossil; amazing. Whoever bought that fossil for $32 million must have lots of extra cash. lol Thank you for sharing these news with me.
      My pain has abated somewhat, thanks to the anti-inflammation medicine. I can move without grimacing. Usually I wait and wait before seeing the doctor, but this pain was constant and fierce. Getting help for it soon saved me lots of trouble! Thanks to Chris for watching the kids so I can take the afternoon off.
      I hope you are caught up and enjoying your evenings! You say you are behind, but I think not. You are more on top of it than you think!!

      Like

      1. Yes “Stan the Man” T-Rex is impressive and who in the world had a spare $32 million to buy him. Thought you and the kids would enjoy knowing about Stan. Glad to hear the pain has abated somewhat … hopefully you’re back to normal pretty quickly and off the pain meds too. I caught up in Reader last night and was 5 days behind. I worked a couple of nights later than usual and got her later, so my boss was on vacation so I went to WordPress. I don’t usually do that, but did this time to catch up. I had never been that many days behind. I know I am posting 3X a week, so that makes it worse. Soon the colorful leaves will be gone and it will be Dullsville as to landscape and hopefully no snow for a while. So, I seized the opportunity to get out all Summer and as much in Fall as possible. There won’t be as many pretty pictures now … cute ones if the squirrels cooperate. 🙂

        Like

      2. Spare $32 million. He and his family must really like dinosaurs!
        It feels like the leaves will fall fast and soon it’ll be bare trees. I understand how you feel like you need to see it before the chill sets in.
        I hope Parker and his welcoming crew will continue to join you on your winter walks!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. That’s a lot of money for a few bones. As long as it’s not icy, I try to get down there as much as I can. When I go, they all gather in a group … I can’t feed them fast enough. I’ve taken photos of them clustered around and enjoying their peanuts.

        Like

      4. Tell me about it! I wonder how much the “amateur paleontologist” got from that. What an amazing find and process for that person and his family. How did he/she even know it were dinosaur bones?! Wow.
        If squirrels used social media, they’d tag you letting all their pals know in the vicinity.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. I know – why aren’t we so lucky to find that when digging in the backyard? The squirrels can’t use telepathy but I love how the blue jays call out to one another that peanuts are on the ground. They screen longer and louder than usual. 🙂

        Like