I'm not really sure what I’d do without my multi-purpose homemade healing salve. I use in on gardening-inflicted sunburns, martial arts blisters, grandson’s chapped cheeks and hands, insect bites, and dog’s scrapes and scratches. Herbal healing salves are gentle, soothing, balms made from natural herbal ingredients; generally speaking they’re safe to use on kids, pets and all people, and are naturally soothing and healing. In this sample recipe, herbally infused oil is chock-full of natural healing powers, Vitamin E oil contributes antioxidants and wound-healing abilities, tea tree oil provides antimicrobial, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, and lavender essential oil works it’s magic on burns (and adds a little soothing aromatherapy to boot!).

Basic Recipe: 1 cup herbally infused oil 1 – 2 oz. Beeswax 10 capsules Vitamin E Oil ½ tsp. each tea tree and lavender essential oils

All of my life, I have been searching for answers to all of life’s most fundamental questions: Why am I here? What is purpose of life? Why do bad things happen to good people? Who is God? Why does He allow all of this?

As a child and again as a teenager, I searched for answers in Christianity, and even though I sensed wisdom and truth in teachings of Jesus--being honest, loving thy neighbor, turning other cheek--there seemed to be something missing. Maybe something got lost in translation.

I didn’t have a problem with not understanding everything about God’s actions--I mean He is God after all, and so how can I expect to understand Him? However, I did feel that I had some legitimate questions about justice. For instance, why do really bad things happen to seemingly good people? Why are babies born with deformities? How could this person’s life of ninety years be equal to that person’s life of 25 years? If all you have to do to go to heaven is believe that Jesus died on cross for your sins, then what kind of a place would heaven be? I mean, I know a lot of people who believe that, and I’m not really sure that heaven would be better than earth if that were case. Also, what happens to people who have never been exposed to Christianity or believe in some other god or religion? Obviously, I had a lot of questions that could not be answered within framework of contemporary Christian religions. Consequently, I gave up search--at least for time being.

When I was twenty-three years old, I became ill. Over next few years, I became unable to work, and I was eventually diagnosed with lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and vasculitis.

I had problems with every joint in my body; I couldn’t stand, sit, or use my hands for any length of time; I had no stamina and slept for about twelve hours every day; I often had acute pain that came and went for apparently no reason and chronic pain that could last for hours; I often could not get comfortable enough to go to sleep; because of amount and kind of medication that I took, I developed a lot of digestive problems; and I often ran a low-grade fever for days, and sometimes, weeks at a time.

Over last two years, vasculitis had become quite bad. I would often break out in large hives all over my body, and would get large spontaneous ‘bruises’ on my legs and arms that were not result of any trauma and which took an unusual length of time to heal. I knew that this could not go on indefinitely, and so I had come to accept fact that length of my life was severely limited.