Perhaps the first would be that all the tests have been done, the specialist seen and the verdict in that nothing can be done for my spine except continue with my chiropractor for palliative care. The good news was there are no signs of TB but I do have a herniated disc causing some of my distress. This may mean I need to curtail some of the walking I've been doing and try to do more stretching and perhaps water related activities. This is somewhat of a hard pill for me to swallow as walking out of doors is one of the great joys of my life and the way I have dealt with stress over the years. This old dog will have to learn some new tricks to deal with stress and enjoy life perhaps. Since the weather changed I have not been walking much and my back pain has almost disappeared. So one blessing exchanged for another, I guess.
The more important news, however, is that Jeff and I made the difficult decision to take early retirement from WorldVenture and ministry as of December 31st. This does not mean that we will not have to work. Just the opposite. We are scrambling to find employment before the end of the year since our last paycheck from WorldVenture will be December 1st. Our retirement benefits from WorldVenture are only enough to pay our car payment. We are not thinking of taking Social Security retirement benefits due to the giant cut it would mean in monthly benefits. So God willing, we will get jobs where we can work out our final years.
We both would like work that offers us consistent schedules and not too much stress as we are both still struggling with health issues, me with my back and Jeff with PTSD that doesn't go away.
I applied last Friday via the internet to Home Instead Senior Care, a privately owned franchise which offers non-medical in home care to the elderly. Things have moved very quickly with that and I've been hired and will begin with a light schedule next week. So I am getting my feet wet, so to speak. I'm hoping that I will mostly be involved in offering companionship and assistance with daily life rather than the heavier cleaning and personal care some elderly require. If I can get enough assignments each week this may work out. But it is really only part time and an on call job. It is also minimum wage. So really it is just a way to get some stateside experience for further employment, I think.
Pray Jeff won't get discouraged as he really does not want me to work. He wants to provide for me but so far has had no responses to his application and resume submitted to quite a few places in the manufacturing world. I fear it may be much tougher for him to get his foot in the door than it was for me.
God is the potter and we the clay, as we learn more about trust and patience through this, another huge transition.
