What is the Hardest Part of Living with Illness? Your Responses!

womenwalk

What is the hardest part of living with a chronic illness? Well, it depends on who you are asking, what time of day you are asking, and a million other factors. Yet, we all have so much in common and we can understand the challenges of the friend beside us even if we don't deal with it ourselves. We all feel "called" to certain things, and not being able to do them--from homeschooling to making dinner--is difficult when we don't feel we can do what we, and others, expect from our self. And the fact that it is invisible . . . well, that makes many of the struggles even more painful as we feel we must justify a housekeeper or a parking placard.   We asked you, "What is the hardest part of living with illness?" and here are your … [Read more...]

My Blue Rocking Chair

blue-rocking-chair

It's uncomfortable to sit in. You barely can relax before it tips and you feel like it will dump you backwards. But I like how it makes me feel. I got it at a discount store, and it was white. Eventually the hot sun cracked the paint. It slivered off like small pieces of icicle coating my patio. I bought deep red paint for it. I like red. It's bold, energizing. I need more energy. Red is good. My parents came to visit. Dad painted it for me and left it out in the grass to dry. The next morning. . . "Are those sprinklers?" Dad asked. "Yes, why?" Long pause. . . "The chair!" he yells and runs out to the grass. Streaked paint. The red paint was now called "primer." One day I am listening to one of my favorite … [Read more...]

Think About . . . Not Being Sick

bedding-pillows

I am lying in bed trying to get comfortable. I've flipped my pillow over a dozen times. Covers off, covers on. Heating pad. Ice pack. I am sick. And I am grumpy. I had the week planned. Fun times with son before school starts, play date with kids and movie on Wednesday. I am to get my first 5-hour infusion of a new drug Friday with babysitter all arranged, husband driving me there and getting off work early to bring me home. Plans with friends on Saturday night if I feel up to it after the infusion. Instead I find myself trying to decide between nibbling on a saltine or a Ritz. What would be more likely for me to keep down? I have nothing positive to find in this I say to myself. People would be so disappointed in me. … [Read more...]

My Grandmother’s Table

grandmastable

1954. My mother's mother got a new table. My mother was in third grade. Each day she came home from school and sat at it and had popcorn and grape juice. Now it sits in my home. My grandmother has been in heaven for over a decade. Her table traveled 1500 miles to reside in my kitchen. I have photos of me sitting in a baby bathtub on this table. I sat at it as a child. Grandma, can I have one more piece of cobbler? Even as a child I remember my grandmother's Bible sitting on this table. When I sit at it, I can feel her love. When I read my Bible at it, I feel God's love. My grandmother had feet that were very broken down. She always wore special shoes to help her keep walking. Grandma would sit down at this table after a … [Read more...]

Saturday Morning Obstacles

hotwheels

Without hesitation I get out of bed. . . Ugh! The knee won't bend. I cannot put weight on it. A tiny piece of bone has moved into a place it should not be sometime during the night. And it is stuck. Oh, not today, Lord. Pleee-eee--ase, not today. If only we could be pain-free on the weekends. I lean over on the bed with my arms and try to bend and unbend the knee as my husband snores. He got home from work sometime around midnight. It was a deadline day. It was an impossible deadline. He worked 15-hour days all week and still didn't make the deadline. He will have to go back into work today, Saturday. I try putting weight on my foot again. Wince. Moan. I try to vocalize my pain quietly. I limp to the living room. Chair. I need a … [Read more...]

Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy – Excerpt From New Book By Maureen Pratt

desert-trail

How do we find joy in the midst of suffering? How do we rise above our pain and attain lives of purpose and bright light? This work focuses on the story of Job and the life of Jesus to show that pain can encourage, nurture, and help us find joy--if we keep the faith! Note: The following article is an excerpt from Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy, reprinted with permission of author, Maureen Pratt. Many of you know Maureen as you have read her previous book, Peace in the Storm and watched Rest Ministries founder, Lisa Copen, on Maureen's TV show of the same name. This book is available at Amazon (where you can read Lisa Copen's review) among other places. JESUS: Our Light and Our Hope . . .but we even boast of our afflictions, … [Read more...]

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