SUMMER SESSION #12- LATE AT NIGHT IT COMES CREEPING A--ROUND

 


Everyone in my season of life knew immediately what this blog title was referring to.  We all know the song.  You are welcome for sticking yet another golden oldie in your head for the day.



Even the blackest of thumbs can grown this here in the South.  I currently have some in my flower bed.  Think--handle it with kid gloves---or better yet a long metal instrument.  This stuff grows in the sun--in the shade--in the wild--in the flower bed--and is SO innocent looking.  Why it has those lovely little white berries on it and grows even when you totally ignore it.  In fact, it does best when ignored.  Before you know it--your world is overgrown with it.



My first case of poison ivy was not until I was an adult.  Did I develop an allergy to it or had I some how managed to avoid it?  There is no avoiding it here, so I must have developed an allergy.  Since that time, I have had it many-many times.  I have had it in my eyes, around my ears, on parts of my body it could not have touched, between my fingers and toes, up my arms, around my legs.  There are not many parts it has not spread.  For you see, if you scratch, you invite it to spread.  The allergy is to the "oil" from the plant.  It causes these blisters to form.  Scratch it and that allows the spread.  Can I tell you how difficult it is to abstain from scratching it?  It is an itch like no other itch. 



I have all but bathed in calamine lotion.  At best it is a very temporary help.  I have used Benadryl cream, Benadryl by mouth, (then you sleep while you are scratching)  and various other over the counter remedies.   The very worst of times, I have had injections of a steroid. The best topical I have ever found had lidocaine in the lotion which will temporarily numb the area.  Every time I itched, I applied more.  Before you know it, you cannot feel any part of your body.  Truthfully this incessant itch will get better--in about two weeks.  As with many of our maladies--time is the healer.  Time and staying out of the poison ivy.  (I currently am battling a bout of this malady.  Thinking washing my hands after coming in from a weeding session would take care of the problem, I was puzzled a day or two later when I first thought something had bitten me in the middle of the night--right under my nose)  Turns out I obviously had the oil on my hands and wiped sweat off my face and neck before washing my hands.  I am still suffering 10 days later---SIGH!

NOW--for a real kicker--the vines loose their leaves before any other plant in the fall.  BUT the plant oils are still in the vine.  I have gotten a really nice case by pulling vines not suspecting it was poison ivy since the leaves were gone.  AND to add insult to injury, I have gotten it from a pair of gloves I used a YEAR before that had come into contact with the plant oils.  YES--once again I got the rash from touching the long idle but oil laced gloves.  DO NOT FOOL AROUND WITH POISON IVY!


HERE is my solution---a liberal application to the leaves of Round Up.  For all you environmentalist---you OBVIOUSLY have never had poison ivy.  This is the way to nip that rash in the bud before it even gets a toe hold and requires no touching by me.  Spray this on the leaves, it takes the poison to the root, and the menace dies.  Don't go fooling around with this lovely plant--stop it before it has begun its dirty deed.

NOW--I know I do not have to spell out today's application of this summer lesson.  You ALL know I am speaking of sin.  Ask the HS to head the sneaky bugger off before it has a chance to come creeping a-round.


"No test of temptation that comes your way is beyond the course

 of what others have had to face.

  All you need to remember is that

God will never let you down; 

he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; 

he'll always be there to help you come through it."

I Corinthians 10:13 (The Message)

1 comment

  1. Danny is always on the look out for poison ivy in our yard, Lulu, and takes care of it post haste! So sorry that you suffer with itching when you are exposed to it, my friend. That's got to be simply torture!
    Great analogy, though, about sin. Let's not allow that to take root.
    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!