If ever I thought there was a time when I should be blogging, it is now, during Invisible Illness Week. Yep, there’s those “shoulds” again!

Meanwhile, my body is aggravated enough to send my mind, followed by my mouth, screaming: I HATE MY BODY! Irritatingly, this has become a regular occurrence. It’s bad enough trying to have a decent relationship with my physical parts, let alone the spiritual ones. I got to the point where thinking about God and prayer led me to an exclamation point in an otherwise completely blank space. No, make that several exclamation points…and a few fuming frustration marks thrown in for good measure. Being the fix-it person I am, I decided that if I couldn’t pray the way I was used to, I could at least express some sort of simple gratitude, preferably in a reverent fashion. I had to find something basic to hold onto, something more tangible than breathing.

What’s more basic than food?

It began with a bowl of oatmeal. I had not felt like eating much since the pain was overpowering most of my senses and desires. (Desires? What are those??) I fell back on something my dad always says: when you don’t feel like eating, eat something simple. An egg. A dry piece of toast, or one with peanut butter for protein. A bowl of oatmeal sprinkled with raisins.

So there I stood, plastic bowl of freshly-nuked oatmeal in my hands, and I took a sniff of the warm steam rising into my face, feeling slightly like I was having a facial. I closed my eyes, mentally making this note: Thanks for this bowl of oatmeal. Then I ate it. Pretty easy, huh?

Ever since, I’ve tried to say that simple thanks over whatever edibles I’ve chosen to chew on. It has made a huge difference, over time, in my spiritual health. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I go back to that simple picture…and that’s my take.