First, as always, I need to sing the praises of Mara, along with Laima and Ganesha, who have continued to be generous and have made it clear that my devotions are appreciated.
Second, it's been a full week since Aisling was kind enough to name me for an Inspiring Blogger award. I've put off posting about it because you're supposed to nominate seven more blogs for the award, but it feels like most of the blogs I read have been nominated for it lately and waiting has not provided me with any inspiration. I didn't wait to wait any longer to thank Aisling for the compliment, though.
In a more proactive sense, I have to go in for some (standard) medical tests on Monday. I'm not too worried about it; they should be fairly straightforward. But there's always anxiety involved with my physical health after the Year of Surgery, so I'm not looking forward to it, either.
There isn't really a "god of healing" that I personally work with, and I feel a little disingenuous trying to cultivate a relationship with one because of this single need. So instead I turn to Odin and Mara, because that's who I know.
I've read other people talk about how a relationship with a single god can deepen to the point where you understand how that god's portfolio touches on every area of life. I'm not there yet by a longshot, but I think in my relationship with Mara, I can begin to see how you get there.
I ask Mara to watch over my body, I ask Odin to protect me from myself. (In different ways, Odin has done this for me for years; it started out related to his berserkers and has evolved quite a bit since then.) Between them, I've gotten this far, and I thank them for that. It's good to know who has your back. I'm very fortunate to have my fiancee, my friends, and my gods.