It has been a while since posting, so I hope to come back and share more often now. I felt this video teaching was a wonderful way to return. This is so powerful.
My friend, Amie Patrick, provided incredible teaching on pain and suffering and hearing from God through all of it. She shares with humility her story and what she has learned.
It is with her permission that I share this with you.
I was so sick. I had never been this ill in my entire life. (Feel free to read Chapters 1-4 of my journey for just how sick!) I was in the hospital for 11 days, waiting for a diagnosis of what was wrong with me.
One diagnosis came early, Sweets Syndrome, a “very rare inflammatory skin condition, or Acute Febrile Neurtophilic Dermatosis.” Say that three times real fast! That explained one set of rashes.
On October 18, 2020 I received the diagnosis that I was praying it wasn’t. Valley Fever, or Coccidioidomycosis. Apparently, I inhaled a fungus which causes “a disease especially in humans and domestic animals found in dry soils of the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Central America. It can be asymptomatic or present as a mild to serious flu-like illness marked chiefly by fever, cough, sore throat, headache, fatigue, and pneumonia but sometimes becoming disseminated beyond the lungs especially to the skin, bones, joints, and meninges resulting in painful lesions, swollen joints, or meningitis.”
After the suggestion that I could have this, I prayed for any other result. They ran several tests. But if you know me, you know that I looked up all of them. This one I did not want, others could go away…this one would not.
Thankfully, early diagnosis is a key. Many of my friends that live in the Southwest(FB support group) have gone undiagnosed for years. This resulted in dissemination, loss of lung, limb, meningitis and in some cases, death.
Fast forward….I am so much better. I am now going to the ID doctor once every six months, so this month I will go back. I have lesions, nodules and a cavity in my left lung as of six months ago, and my titer has been 1:2 for an entire year. This reading indicates an active disease, but a good reading. I am praying it is >1:2 this time around, which would indicate dormancy.
Those of you who have experienced “fatigue” know there is a marked difference in it and “being tired.” That has improved as well. I am walking 3-4 miles a day, which is a long way from using a walker for two months.
I still have joint and muscle pain, but it is tolerable. I “eat to live” rather than “live to eat.” Anyone that knows me well knows I stick to a pretty strict eating plan, and it has helped me. I do listen to my body and if I overdo it…my Sweet’s Syndrome rash will break out and remind me it is okay to rest.
As I have said so many times..”everyone is dealing with something.” The pressure is on my friends. But Jesus Christ has never left me, and He never will leave you. He told us in this world we would have troubles…but that He would bring us peace, and that we could take heart, He had overcome it all through His death on the cross. (John 16:33)
So what about my prayer? Lord, anything but Valley Fever! He did not answer that prayer the way I wanted. I am not sure why, but I trust Him. He did answer my prayer in getting me through it. Getting me through those tough days and nights when the pain was almost intolerable….bringing me peace when I was not sure what my future would hold. Sending confirmations of His love through song, Bible verses and other people.
That is good news. Remember you are never alone. Once He is your Savior, He will walk with you through every one of those troubles, and friends…there will be troubles. We live in a very fallen world.
None of us knows what tomorrow holds. I know that I will always have to be mindful with my Valley Fever and whatever else this body has to endure. I know that it is okay. No matter what, He will get me through it.
Jesus Christ is our only true Hope.
I am so grateful for those of you that prayed for me and took time to continue to check on me. You were used to encourage us.
My prayer for you is that as you deal with the trials of this life, you will have the peace that only He can give.
A couple of weeks ago, I woke up with 1 Peter on my mind. I usually don’t dream about specific books of the Bible, so I made a mental note to read and study it.
I was already doing a study on Revelation (Amir Tsarfati’s “Revealing Revelation,” which is one of the best studies I have ever done.) But, not wanting to get off track, I put Peter off.
For someone who seems to forget things rather easily, 1 Peter would not go away! I finally began to read it and was not surprised that immediately it spoke to my heart and right where I was emotionally and spiritually. And as I read on, I realized its theme was hope for believers in their suffering. And as believers, it continue to let us know that we can allow the grace of God to be amplified in our lives.
“Praised [honored, blessed] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [the Messiah]. By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,[born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, who are being guarded by God’s power through[your] faith [until you full inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time.” I Peter 1:3-5 AMP
I have always believed that I was called to be an encourager, thus my participation in particular ministries over the last three decades and these blog posts and books, among other things. It truly is “in giving we receive”. Life has often gotten in the way, but I pray that through these trials, “the grace of God has been amplified in…my life.”
As God continued to speak to me through His word, I realized how timely it was several times throughout the week. After having a couple of conversations with people, I would come upon the very situation we were talking about…you guessed it, right in 1 Peter!
Why even my desk calendar for August 6 was on 1 Peter 5:6-7 AMP “Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, casting the whole of your care[all your anxieties, worries, concerns once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”
Why does any of this matter? Because we matter…to God. He wants to have an intimate relationship with us. He wants to save us! The God of the Universe wants us to know that He loves us, and that He has a plan for our lives. He wants to encourage us, but as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes we are too busy…to hear what He has to say.
We get so “busy” with the things we think we should be busy with and those “good things” that we miss the very Word He wants to speak into our heart for the moment we need it most.
I simply don’t want to miss Him and what He has to say. He has always been faithful and will continue to be so. I know that to always be true, even when its hard…even if it doesn’t turn out like I want it to….He is faithful.
Encouragement for Today 