Reflections 5/13/2020: Sooo precious! So relatable! Definitely been on both sides of this neediness. Carer and Caree. One takes great compassion. The other takes great humility. Sometimes allowing another person to come close when you feel unlovingly prickly is a real challenge! You KNOW you are being reactive and unreasonable, but it is such a overpowering emotion that you can’t seem to put the brakes on it. That’s when the Carer has his or her work cut out for them! Thick skin over a sensitive heart! “Turn the other cheek” selflessness. Ed has reeled me in from many a spit-firing stuck place by his willingness to sit through my explosiveness (or pouting), to hear my heart beneath the outward turmoil. And speak to IT, not my ugliness. God, thank You for that… and for him. He helps me grasp the essence of Your patient love for me as well. Presently my “bad days” are not so much riddled with anger as bouts of discouragement. Chronic pain sucks the spunk out of you… and distorts your view of the future. Ed’s best strategy is getting me laughing! Once the laughter sets in, a whole different chemistry takes over my body! I am freed from the bonds of self-absorption! How thankful I am for his and Your commitment to me, especially on the “bad days!”