Skip to main content

Lyme and Grace

I’ve tried to not be super vocal in my daily life about my illness except when it comes down to practical things like “I can’t eat that” and “I can’t go there”, mostly because I don’t want my identity to become wrapped up in being sick and dealing with these issues... or so I’ve told myself. But maybe it’s more about pride and trying to pretend I’m something I’m not... trying to pretend I’m far from weak and that I have everything under control when really I do not and cannot.

Like it or not, it IS part of what I am, and it has shaped who I have become. Suffering has its benefits, and I do not say this lightly: The physical pain I experience daily would have been major cause for alarm 4 years ago. Now, it’s so normal I notice when I’m NOT in pain. The emotional pain of loss caused by health challenges is felt just as keenly. Suffering has caused me to... ⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1. KNOW GRACE. I did not understand the concept of grace until all of my physical and mental abilities were stripped away from me and I had to wrestle with wondering if God still loved me when I couldn’t do anything for him. Grace says YES he does.

2. LONG FOR THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH. When everything was going well, I didn’t fully grasp the consequences of sin or how broken this world is. Now I have a constant reminder in my body that this world is a broken, broken place and I truly long for the day when he will restore and make all things right.

3. IDENTIFY WITH THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS. A dear friend texted 2 Corinthians 1:4 to me the other day and it was such a good reminder: “...the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God...” The people who have comforted me the most have been those who have experienced great suffering themselves. God does not allow things to happen for anything less than his glory. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Would I gladly give up my struggles for a healthy body? DUH. But on some level, I am thankful for this journey, lonely and frustrating as it is sometimes, because through it I know Christ more.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Check Yo' Facts, People

The number of Christians spewing Rachel Scott's father's speech after Columbine all over Facebook and via email is unbelieveable. Sure, it applies to the Newton shooting, but guess what??! Contrary to popular opinion, IT'S NOT ABOUT THE NEWTON SHOOTING. He made that speech after the Colombine shooting in 1999. (Link above takes you to the house.gov record of the speech) Christians, please check your facts before you present heresay as truth! I remember one time in high school everybody was passing around a chain email that said Mars was the closest to earth it would ever be, and to go look at the stars on a particular night to see it. Well, without checking our facts, we went with some friends to the observatory at the local university to view the sights. When we asked about Mars, the professor was like, "uhh, did you get an email?? Because Mars is as far away from earth as possible right now..." It pays to do your homework, people. Did we believe any of the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Still, Small Voice

Like any good human, I'm waiting for the earthquake that determines my next move in life. I'm waiting for the hurricane, or the volcano, or the atomic bomb. Something obvious that will tell me what to do. You're not being faithful in the little things. I was driving down the road on my way to work, whining to God about why I had to be doing this, why I couldn't move somewhere new, do something new, try something exciting. Then came the still small voice. You're not being faithful in the little things. And it was gone. It wasn't the flowery message we so often pass around of God has great things for you, just wait, it will come, it will be better than you could imagine... It was you're not being faithful . Ouch. Words never sting so much as when you know, no question, they're true. The time I waste. The half-hearted job I do on certain tasks. The avoiding of certain people. The fact I'm sitting here flipping between Facebook and ty...
Post a Comment
Read more

Maybe It's Not So Bad....

So apparently I don't learn my lessons very well. I was going back through my recent posts, and they were about thankfulness and giving God control of my life. This past week, I've been bombarded with small and medium sized things that require a reaction from me. And my reactions haven't been very good. Instead of looking for ways that God can use the situation, I've been complaining. A lot. Yesterday, when yet another thing had to be dealt with, I was reminded of Paul. Here I am, worried about how to fix my truck and if I can get all my homework done in time. There's Paul, rejoicing because he GETS to suffer for Christ. And he doesn't just have a lot of homework. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits...
Post a Comment
Read more