Back to Normal?

I know, these back puns are getting out of hand. I'll try to back off.

Thanks so much to those of you who have been praying for my back to heal. The good news is that each day I can feel it returning to normal. The bad news is that I'm not well enough to do my normal work, as sitting down is only tolerable for a half hour, if that. So here's what happened...

I've been attempting to get back into a non-round shape over the last couple weeks. I think I may have jumped, yet again, onto the fitness with a bit too much exuberance, and overdid things a bit. That left my vulnerable little spine, well, vulnerable to going out with the slightest twisting movement. So when I kicked that soccer ball, in an attempt to save my spine from injury, my quadratus lumborum (see pic above) muscle seized up. When that muscle seized up, it twisted my back along with it from top to bottom. So when I asked my dad to do what we normally do with my back problems, it didn't fix the entire back, and because that muscle was still seized up, it probably made things worse. (Dad felt horrible to have played a part in causing me excruciating pain, though it wasn't his fault, and I asked him to do it.) So when I went to the osteopath, he cracked my twisted back into place and told me that the quardatus lumborum is a tricky muscle, an uncooperative little bugger. Apparently very little can be done to relax that muscle aside from just letting it fix itself. My back is straight now, but that muscle keeps spasming enough to keep me from sitting or standing for a long time. I've spent the majority of my time for the last week on my back, and it's getting very old. Mandi was here this weekend, and I got out of the house a couple times, which was great. Each day things feel better than the day before. I'm just glad to be able to walk almost normally and not have as much pain to try to block out. Things are improving, but please keep praying, especially as I've got a 12 hour flight coming up in less than two weeks, and they frown on people lying in the aisle.

I'm wondering when my heating pad is going to go out, as it's been almost constantly on for days now...

All things painful aside, things are going well. I was able to finish a video while I was flat on my back, making me so thankful for having a laptop, as a desktop and monitor might not be as easy to balance on my lap while lying down. The video is for a group called Transitions Global a non-profit organization whose goal it to save people out of slavery, specifically young girls out of sex-slavery in SE Asia. My friends Seth and Fritz went to Cambodia and Thailand back in December, and Fritz shot a bunch of footage of a girl who has gone through the Transitions program, and is now rehabilitated and living on her own. She has a powerful testimony, and Fritz's footage is beautiful. I edited the video footage into a story and recorded original music for it. The project took longer than expected because I volunteered my time for this, and I have other responsibilities that kept me from getting it done sooner. But it's finally done, and I'm quite pleased with it. It will be debuted for viewing at my church's group, The Well Global, Tuesday evening. Due to the sensitive nature of the footage, it won't be posted online, but if I see you in person I can show it to you, or if you happen to catch a Transitions Global presentation, there's a good chance you'll see it there.

I really can't believe I'm going to be in Thailand in a couple weeks. Crazy. I think most of the details are taken care of. Please continue to pray that things go smoothly and that this time will answer a lot of the questions I have about living and working in Chiang Mai.

And now, I have to get back to lying around playing Super Nintendo, reading, and watching movies. It sounds nice, I know, but I'm itching to get back to normal life. It drives me crazy being stuck on my back much of the time. Soon things will return to normal. At least that's what I'm praying for.

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