Chronic Pain and Lukewarm Faith, by Heather Hart
After almost a year of severe, chronic migraines, I am happy to announce that I am finally feeling better. I’m not 100% yet, but I have had several pain-free days for the first time in ten months.
I am over-the-moon excited and thankful for the relief.
But as much as I clung to God over the past year, I’m sad to say that my faith still suffered.
For months I was unable to read my Bible (or anything else for that matter), and I am struggling to get back into the groove.
Baptism: Celebrating My Rebirth-day
April is a very special month for me. Many of my great life changes seem to have happened in April. This particular celebration is very special to me: on 7 April 2012 I was baptised in the sea at Brighton beach in the UK!
I was 30 years old at the time. Baptism was something I had been thinking about doing for years, but I never really understood what living a life in Christ really meant and how baptism fit into it all, so I kept putting it off. In 2012 everything changed and I finally understood what Jesus' sacrifice meant for me.
God will give you the desires of your heart
This verse is often misinterpreted and then people are discouraged and think God doesn’t keep His word.
It’s not saying God is a genie and will grant all your wishes, whatever they are, we know that not everything we lust after in this life is in alignment with God’s will or even part of the path He would like us to be on. I know my own desires were far from godly before I gave my life to Christ and our flesh will always crave things that aren’t good for us. That’s part of the human nature since our separation from God through disobedience in the Garden of Eden… it’s in our DNA now, we all have a hard time fighting our own nature.
That is the beauty of salvation through Christ, lives changed, character changed, desires changed – by Him, not by our own might.Continue reading
Keeping an eternal perspective
I absolutely believe that we are safer with God in any storm than we would be anywhere else without Him.
It’s hard when you focus on the pain and suffering in this world or even your own personal trials to remember that this is just a fraction of eternity. This will eventually pass, it is only a temporary part of your life.
Keeping the eternal perspective allows you to see how small and temporary every trial is in the larger picture.
That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt or doesn’t scare you or make you feel helpless at times. It just means that you will never lose hope because you know that this too shall pass.
There have been a few occasions since the onset of my ME/CFS that I have broken down from frustration and utter physical weakness. I’ve even had a few panic attacks, and every time I have a breakdown or meltdown, I remember the first one because it was incredible.Continue reading
Isolation: where did all my friends go?
Sometimes it’s hard to accept that when you’re living with a chronic illness, people fall away, but it is something that commonly happens after a period of time, and it might even be beneficial.
Initially, once people are made aware of your struggles, you might have an outpouring of support and practical help from many around you, but over time, when you don’t improve, most people will inevitably drift away as they are unable to make taking care of you a permanent fixture in their lives. They have their own lives to navigate.
When you’re no longer in the same circles, no longer going out, no longer socialising, you’re no longer in their life unless an effort is consciously made on both sides to stay in touch and make things happen. I have seen this happen over and over again with so many people who fall ill. That’s why I don’t believe you should take it personally, it’s just a fact of life – only a precious few will remain, if you’re lucky.Continue reading