Breaking Seeds. Sowing Ankles.

I broke my ankle last Wednesday while playing mixed Futsal. A desperate stretch to take a shot on goal landed me with a spiral fracture to my lateral malleolus and a purple cast which I will have to leave on for the next 6 weeks :(

I was rushed to the hospital straight from the futsal match by my dear friend, Shaz. The doctor didn't bother to wash or sterilise my sweaty skin before casting up my ankle. I'm not allowed wet the cast, so that means that the dirty skin underneath would be uncleaned for 42 days. I sure hope I don't find anything green or black growing on my skin when I get the cast removed.

So.. I decided to revive my blog being filled with inspiration after reading Mink's blog.

I just finished watching "500 Days of Summer". I loved every lame joke and every awkward moment in that movie. Near the end, the narrator reads:

"Most days of the year are unremarkable. They begin, and they end, with no lasting memories made in between. Most days have no impact on the course of life. But the 23rd of May was a Wednesday..."

It is quite true that very few lasting memories are made in between most days of the year. Yet I believe that every day endows lessons and memories, be they significant or not, that shape our mindsets and influence our thoughts, words, and actions. They are the sum of who we are. They are forgotten not because they're not important; they are forgotten simply because we do not remember them.

So I've decided to make short posts about what God's taught me through each day lest I forget.

"Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." - Mark 4:18

I felt convicted when I read that passage today because I know that I've been subject to these 3 pitfalls: worries, greed, and discontentment.

The seed is the Word of God which brings freedom from sin, freedom from the fear of death, freedom to forgive, freedom to love, eternal life, joy and peace. Yet I know that I have been "unfruitful" because I worry about my future. I worry about my relationships. I worry about whether my friends will remain true. I worry about whether I'll get a job that I enjoy doing; about whether I will earn enough money; about getting an iPhone 4; about getting a bigger and better house, about getting a spiffy car. I worry about soo many things.

I know that all worries, greed and discontentment draws my attention away from the things of God. So I'm going to trust God to provide for my needs and I'm going to focus my time, finances, and attention into doing his will.

"The happy man is not the one who gets what he wants but the one who wants what he gets." - some wise dude

I'll finish off with a completely unrelated medical piece of information. An experienced doctor once told me: "Your diet doesn't affect acne at all."

I was like: "What? Are you sure?"

Experienced Dr: "Prove me wrong!"

I can still remember the smug look on his face when he said that.

Dear Dr. Smug-face,

"Population-based and migration studies have suggested a correlation between diet and acne. Large, well-controlled, observational studies have demonstrated that diets high in dairy products are associated with an increase in the risk for and severity of acne. Researchers have found significant associations between all varieties of cow's milk and acne. The relationship between milk and acne severity may be explained by the presence in dairy of normal reproductive steroid hormones or the enhanced production of polypeptide hormones such as IGF-1, which can increase androgen exposure, and thus, acne risk. Recent findings also describe an association between a high-glycemic-index diet and longer acne duration. In addition, randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that a low-glycemic-load diet can influence hormonal levels and improve insulin sensitivity and acne. No study has established a positive association between acne and chocolate, saturated fat, or salt intake."

Yours truly,

Skin Therapy Letter. 2010; 15(3):1-2.

P.S. Try to have some respect for your patient's queries in the future.

Three things I'm grateful to God for:

1) The powerful gust of wind that woke me up. I actually thought the rapture was happening!

2) My dad, mum, sis, and granny who've been waiting on me in love

3) Love.