How I Spent New Year's Eve

My New Year's Eve began by sleeping in, and then enjoying a scrumptious breakfast with cousins, before opening our stockings (the day after our Christmas dinner & gift exchange, which was the day after our traditional homemade eggnog, proving that one CAN stretch the holidays out).

I started my trek home at a train station a little further away from their home so that I wouldn't have to lug my duffel bag up and down stairs to reach the platform. At the first station where I transferred, there was an escalator up, but only stairs down to my next platform. The next two stations where I transferred are two of Tokyo's largest, so there were elevators and escalators aplenty. The last change was from one side of the platform to the other.

Five trains and three hours later, I arrived home, very thankful that my 5-story apartment building has an elevator (it is NOT required unless a building has six or more floors, thus a high number of 5-story buildings).

Our team's December Concert of Prayer had been moved to New Year's Eve, so that we could share the evening together, ending the year in prayer and worship. I went for the first hour and a half.

Although I love the people gathered in that room, and I love the tradition of our monthly Concerts of Prayer, and I loved the hymns we were singing in between segments of prayer, I knew it was not best for my body to stay until the end.

Home remedies and massive asthma meds are not doing the trick for this third sinus infection (and resultant asthma cough) in nine weeks. Did the antibiotics treat the previous infections, or only mask the symptoms for a week or two? I'm thankful to have an appointment with my doctor this coming Monday on her first day back after the New Year's holidays.

I'm ringing the new year in by drinking out of a goblet as I force fluids, breathing tea tree oil vapors, and going through Neil Med Sinus Rinse packets (and inhalers) like there's no end in sight.

Here's to a healthy New Year! ... or, better yet, a spiritually healthy New Year! (Thanks to the reminder of a teammate last night who said, "I hear that people who struggle with health problems learn to depend on the Lord more." May it be so! May it be so!)