Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Then take all the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar.

• Exodus 29:13

Moses also took all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it on the altar.

• Leviticus 8:16

his archers surround me. Without pity, he pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground.

• Job 16:13

The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat — the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

• Isaiah 34:6

There are not many references to kidneys in the Bible.  The first two Scriptures above speak of the ceremonial preparation of burnt offerings.  There are nine more like them between Exodus and Leviticus.  But these verses explain, in part, what God intends to do with the Edomites in the Isaiah prophecy.  The verse from Job is about the way I feel now.

In fact, I had to take a break after writing that last paragraph.

I had four surgeries from mid-December 2023 through the Spring of 2024 to clean up kidney stones.  They did a 24-hour catch of urine and quickly got the results, but I never heard about it.  Then, this past winter, there were two more surgeries to get rid of what was left.  But then, there were more kidney stones, tiny fragments, that were still there.

Finally, the doctor explained that my urine pH was too high, and my citric acid was too low.  This came from the 24-hour urine catch from over a year ago.  No explanation as to why it took this long.

But the good news is that all I have to do was squirt a little lemon juice into each bottle of water that I drink and then go in for testing in six months to see the wonderful results.

For those who flunked chemistry, citric acid is found in citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, grapefruits, limes).  All acids have low pH.  So, since my pH was high and my citric acid content of my urine was low, one dietary change fixes both problems.  More citric acid means lower pH.

But then, after the first day, I was reminded of why my diet avoids the highly acidic foods.  I have battled with GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder) since 1979.  My diet has finally been adjusted to reduce the acid level of my stomach.  My antiacid intake is the lowest since the problem started.

But adding a little lemon juice to the water has given me such pain in my chest that I was wondering if it was something completely different.

The fear of heart issues went away when I realized it was probably GERD.  It felt like GERD.  I was not having problems breathing.  My vitals were in great shape.

So, the old expression seems to fit.  I am out of the frying pan and into the fire.  I want to gut it out (pun intended) to see if this will even work, but I may need to see my family doctor to see if a non-antiacid regimen might need to be added to attack the GERD from a different direction.  Antiacids would just neutralize the citric acid.  Taking more antiacids just means I waste my time with the lemon juice in the first place.

This is a wait and see situation, but at least I have an expert’s opinion of why I am having so many kidney stone issues.

Praise the Lord.  Information is good, but when I get to Heaven there will be no pain from any imbalance in my system.  That is not just better; that is great!

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.