North Side of the Mountain

In Bulgaria, a shipbuilding company has this statement in its advertisement:  “All our timber comes from the north side of the mountain.”  Why the north side? What does that have to do with timber?

The best timber grows on the north side of the mountain because of the rigors of Mother Nature. The snow is deeper; the cold is colder; the wind is stiffer; and the sun is not as warm as the south side of the mountain. The harshness of the weather is a contributing factor to the toughness of the timber. So this is why this shipbuilding company uses this timber—it is an adding factor to its hardness.  It can hold up to the extreme conditions the seas have to offer.

My in-laws told me this story from their travels in Europe.  I thought it interesting in my own life.  What 'rigors' do I put up with in life and do they make me a 'tougher' person, or do I collapse under the first sign of the trouble Mother Nature throws my way?

I know when I was first diagnosed with MS I really did collapse.  I wanted nothing more than to crawl into my hole some where and die.  Then, I decided since my little three-year girl and six-month old boy wouldn't let me do that, I would wheel-and-deal with the Man Upstairs.

Now, any one who is religious of any kind, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or what have you, know the Guy does not make deals.  We are sent here to follow and learn.  So this wheeling-and-dealing was to no good.  But I must say at the time, I did feel better--momentarily.  Then, I became angry and bitter He wasn't listening to my deal making.

Little did I know, all this was what I now call 'weathering.'  I was being subjected to the rigors of Mother Nature.  I have battled the snow--relapses where I've had to learn to write and type all over again.  The wind--relearning to walk and adjust my driving all over again.  The cold--losing feeling in parts of my body where now it is just constant tingling and having to learn to use that again.

And with each step of the 'weathering,' I have become a more compassionate and patient person.  I have more empathy for my neighbor.  I see things with different eyes.

I have doctors' asking me if they could have patients call me and talk to me about my experiences since they have patients swallowed in self-pity.  Some call, some don't.

For me, summer is the brutal time of the year.  About three weeks ago, I was pulling 'a' weed and took a good fall.  I am taking longer to pull out of this slump than I used to do.  The wind that is blowing this time is a stiff gale and is making me question even my Maker's weathering techniques.  But I think in this, I need to slow down.

I have been on the go, go, go since the first green sprig poked its head out of the ground in early March.  So I have had time to smell my flowers, taste my tomatoes, watch my grass grow (and die, hahaha) and realize He is making my piece of timber a bit stronger and a bit more weathered. I am still going through my 'rigors' of Mother Nature and probably will be until I die.

Who knows?  Maybe there is something more this stubborn old tree needs to learn and another sapling I need to help out before we both break in the next gale-force wind that blows down from the North Side of the Mountain.