Just DO It!

Whatever He says to you, do it. - John 2:5

When mommy eagles teach their babies to fly, guess what they do? They push them out of the nest. Yes, you read that right. They PUSH them out! Now, don't call Birdie Protective Services on these mommies just yet! Know too, that these mommies never let their young hit the ground. They fly in under their young to catch them on their backs, then take them back up, and push them again. For additional motivation to learn to fly, the mom also uses her strong beak and talons to pull the nest apart. Out go the comfy grass, straw, and feathers. Out go sticks and twigs. Out go the larger support branches. At first glance none of this sounds like a loving, nurturing thing to do, but I think mommy eagles and God work by a similar truth. Baby eagles won't fly unless they have to, and people won't make necessary changes unless they have to.

My first push toward essential oils came in the spring of 2015. My then 6 year old son had developed at first what appeared to be a pimple on the back of his knee. After a few weeks the one pimple multiplied into a cluster of them! And within days he had another patch going in the same spot on the other leg. No longer believing this to be heat rash of some sort, I took him to his pediatrician where he was diagnosed with warts. I wish I could remember the actual medical diagnosis because the doctor told me it was viral and hence would need both topical and internal treatment. He prescribed a cream and Tagamet that my son would need to be on for about 6 months. Six months!

I remember leaving the doctor's office that day thinking the last thing I wanted to do was put my 6 year old son who has Autism and struggles with all kinds of behaviors on a medication for 6 months! I was not 100% opposed to the idea, but I was certainly open to other options. So I called a family member ... my nephew's wife to be exact. She was the one who had sent the excited text about essential oils the previous summer. Low and behold her son had just had a round with warts too! She put a concoction together with directions for application, and I drove over to get it. After applying this "wart be gone" remedy on the backs of my son's knees 3 times a day for 2 weeks, it was gone and never returned. He is 9 now.

That was it! That was the moment I realized the power of essential oils. That was the moment I was not only shocked by what I'd witnessed but upset to think I could've unnecessarily pumped my son full of meds for 6 months and with no guarantee of it working. That was the "Oh my gosh" experience I needed to make me wonder what else these oils could do! With 2 children on the spectrum who struggled with everything from attention to anxiety to sleep, I just knew these oils could help with something! But what oils? How do I apply them? Where do I apply them? I still had so many questions, but I was pumped and primed to learn, for sure!

How could I have known that all the answers were coming, soon, and because God goes above and beyond in our petitions, He wasn't just sending me a "how to" article. He was sending me a friend and a fellow mommy of children on the Autism Spectrum.

Friend, has life got you in an uncomfortable place? Have you been praying but feel you are being pushed a direction you are unsure of? May I suggest to you that sometimes that is exactly how God works. He gets us to a place where we are so overwhelmed and desperate for an answer that we are finally willing to take a leap of faith. You know, I think about the scripture I shared at this blog's opening, "Whatever He says to you, do it." It comes from the story in the Bible about Jesus' first recorded miracle, turning water into wine. But in these words spoken by His mother it is obvious that she had already seen Him do many miraculous things. She had inside information on who her son really was, and can I tell you something? So do we. As believers, we have the leading of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our every step. So in those uncomfortable places in life where you are sensing a gentle push that seems to defy all logic, my best advice to you is to prayerfully, just do it. He will either cause you to fly or bare you up on Eagle's wings.


*For the Wart Be Gone recipe, please click on the Facebook Group link to the right. Thanks!

Divinely Directed Steps

A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure. -Prov. 16:9

It's been said that life is lived in forward and understood in reverse. I've found this to be very true, and it perfectly describes how I started my journey with essential oils.

For those of you who don't know me, I have two children diagnosed with Autism. One in 2003, and the other in 2012. As an Autism mom, or any mom dealing with a diagnosis of which no cause, no cure, and no definite prognosis can be given, you search. Your search usually starts with doctors and therapists. But when unresolved issues linger you are faced with specialists and medications. Although these things have a place in this world, it can be really hard to put your young, developing child on some of these meds. So your search widens to other methods of helping your child. These may include, but certainly are not limited to, special diets (gluten and casein free, eliminating red dye #5 and artificial flavoring, etc.), chelation therapy (removing heavy metals from the body), hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatments (infusing high levels of oxygen to the body) ... and the list goes on and on. However, NONE of these specialized treatments are covered by medical insurance, and families can go broke in all their endeavors to improve their child's life and many times do with no real improvement to show for it.

This was my family's story, and when it happened it was emotionally, physically, and financially devastating. It was at this point that I stopped searching. I stopped trying to do things in my own power and strength. I was depleted! Which in hindsight is exactly where God knew I needed to be. I began to realize God already knew exactly what was going on with my children and exactly what would be most beneficial for their bodies. I realized now more than ever I needed to be spirit led because I was running myself ragged. So I swapped my searching for prayer, and the most amazing thing happened.

It was 2014 when a dear neighbor of mine stopped me one day to ask if I'd ever heard of essential oils. I had but was not very knowledgeable on the topic. I had grown up with a mom that thought Tea Tree Oil could cure anything. (Kind of like the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding who sprayed everything with Windex!) So my neighbor sent me some info about oils and talked with me at length about them, but I was a bit of a skeptic at that point.

That summer our family went to a Joni and Friends Family Retreat, a camp especially designed for families affected by disability. There I met a fellow special needs mom who told me about essential oils. She was very passionate about them and gave me a bottle of lemon and lavender ... my first experiences outside of Tea Tree Oil. Later that same evening I received a text from a family member who had recently gotten involved in essential oils. I could hear the excitement through her typed words as she told me about oils and some very powerful testimonies of using them on children with Autism. Now my curiosity was peaked as this "oils thing" kept coming up and this scripture came to mind, "For God does reveal His will; He speaks not only once, but more than once, even though men do not regard it." (Job 33:14) God now had my full attention. After all, I had prayed for Him to direct my path about my children, and it sure looked like He was doing it!

Even in sensing this was the way to go, I had absolutely no clue about essential oils and Autism. I did a little research on line but found it completely overwhelming. It seemed, like most things regarding the Autism Spectrum, it was not a simple one-size fits all kind of thing. Everyone had different testimonies of what worked for their kids. Too mind boggled by the whole thing I set it aside and prayed again that if this was really the path somehow God would lead me in what oils to use and how to use them.

Little did I know that while all this was happening with me, some 1,200 miles away a woman well versed in essential oils, her husband, and their two sons on the Spectrum were putting plans in motion to move to Florida. (Where I live!) They would make the move that fall of 2014, and God would work a divine appointment for our paths to cross. But first He had to further prepare me for essential oils by giving my first "Oh my gosh" experience with them.