March 22, 2022
My health breaking down…
My dear [wonderful employer at the time],
I just realized I never answered your question about how many hours a week I’m working. I think I’m working about 15. I know it’s not 20. Sometimes it is, but not on average. I think you should be paying me $300 a month consistently - definitely not $400. Because if it’s $100 for every 20 hours, and I am working 15 hours/week, then that rounds it down to an even $300 for 15 hours a week. Previously - before February - I was consistently working more hours than 20 per week, what with how busy The Lodge was during the week, and helping with Little Blue, and I was donating the extra time as we had talked about at first. But my health hasn’t been able to sustain that, especially with the downward turn it took in late November. I kept hoping I would feel better, but it’s been a consistent bout of bad days, with a few good days lately. In previous years, my health often begins to improve around April or May, so I’m hoping that it follows that trend again this year as well.
I had initially said that I would stay here until March, and then reevaluate at that time. And of course I have found that I love living and working here. On days when I feel well, it’s easy work, even if it lasts all day, and I absolutely love the quiet and beauty. I’ve just been soaking it into my soul. Plus the people who come here are amazing, and the people I work with are pretty great too. 😉
The problem is, most days lately, I’m not feeling well. At which point, even 20 minutes to 1 hour of work depletes my blood oxygen levels, and leaves me gasping for breath. Sometimes I can push through, but other times pushing through has led to dangerous issues with my organs. So obviously, that’s a problem, and I’m honestly not sure what my next step should be.
Since December, I’ve prayed and thought about moving to Greenville, maybe getting a second or full time job in the area, but with my consistent health setbacks, that hasn’t been feasible.
The Lord has always provided, and I’m curious to see what His plan is in all of this. It’s interesting to look back at where I was a year ago, and see how much more trust I have in Him, and in how He provides.
My doctor is currently recommending a heavy metal copper detox, which is the next heavy metal detox that I need to go through – I’ve been through many in my life. Each time, it knocks me out during the time it lasts, and brings long lasting healing afterward. But this particular detox is a six month program, and more strict than any I’ve been through before, during most of which time I can’t be doing any kind of manual labor. So I’m bringing that to the Lord right now. If it’s something He wants me to do soon, He will direct my path there, and open the door to a living situation and income that makes it possible. But on the other hand, I’ve had copper toxicity my whole life, so it’s not like it’s an emergency measure right now - I can wait. He knows best.
My mom and I are going to brainstorm all of this, and other possibilities and solutions, when she gets here. I will be praying a novena for clarity and direction leading up to it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. It was really helpful for me, because it’s been a lot of different factors weighing on my mind lately, and it was really helpful to put it down on paper. Please feel free to ask me any questions, and to dispute the dollar amount of $300 per month. It might still be too much, if I did the math wrong. 😁
With love,
Elizabeth