Tag Archives: God’s love

My Valley Fever and Sweets Syndrome Journey Chapter 1

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We all have stories, and it seems 2020 has been full of them for so many. So many individual journeys.

I decided to write about this journey that I am on. 

People are hurting right now in so many ways, and if my journey can help someone learn about Valley Fever or Sweets Syndrome, then that is great!

But more importantly, if my journey can encourage someone in the understanding of the love of God, how real and how personal that love is…then none of my experience has been wasted.

It started back in September, when I was visiting my children and grandchild in Arizona.  They gifted me a trip for my 60th birthday.  It was a wonderful time and I would not trade it for anything!  

Our one and only grandchild, a granddaughter, is a joy.  She has Cerebral Palsy and is my constant inspiration.

My husband was there for a week.  We had never been to Arizona, and the beauty of its creation mesmerized us, so different from our own at home. We got to visit Sedona, go on a jeep ride and see so many sights.

About the third week I started feeling ill.  I experienced a dry cough, fatigue, loss of appetite and actually felt like a train had hit me.  I was concerned that I might not be able to fly home.  There were fires in the area, and I had asthma, thus the cough, or so I thought. I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in December 2019, so I thought I had overdone it, thus the fatigue and pain.

I wasn’t even sure if I could fly home, but I made it.  Once home, I ran a low grade fever, continued with the painful cough and fatigue. I had hives for a short time, then I broke out in something similar to blisters all over my body.  It was like nothing I had ever experienced.

My husband and friend, Amanda convinced me to go to the ER.  I did not want to go, but I knew something was horribly wrong with me.

It was.

My first gift from God was getting to the hospital.  This took a lot of convincing, but the Lord knew I was in desperate need.  I am a rather stubborn woman, so this was His doing for sure! 

After eight hours in the ER, I was finally admitted to a local hospital and then transferred by ambulance to a major hospital in a near-by city, which was two hours away.

It was 3:30 AM, and I went by ambulance. This wasn’t something I had on my bucket-list, but as all suitable Type A people do…I added it so I could cross it off! LOL

Dear ones, look for those gifts from God in the midst of your journey. They are there for all of us.

Next: The Second Gift

~Be Encouraged Today~

Tammy

The Zinnia Fields

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The Father seems to speak to my heart often through His creation.  It has especially loud over the last several months.  This was no exception.

We visited a lovely zinnia field at a local orchard the other day.  The field was awash with colors beyond imagination.  As the flowers softly danced in the gentle breeze, some lovely little creatures visited them.

Hummingbirds, bumblebees and a plethora of butterflies flitted back and forth from flower to flower with not a care in the world.  Little did they know that there was craziness in our world.  Their goal was simply to gather nectar and enjoy their flights!

 

I tried to capture several pictures and as my husband and I walked along the paths; we noticed something at the end of the field that we could not see from the very beginning.  It was another field.  Brown and barren mostly.

But…

We watched a butterfly make its way out of the abundance of flowers and head toward the what appeared to be an empty field.  We followed it.

And then we saw them……

Amongst all the brown and dusty soil there appeared many zinnias.  There was not a field of them, but a dotting of sorts, like a polka dotted tablecloth set for a picnic.

And the butterfly knew the field had value.  

The fields were right next to one another.  It reminded me of the pandemic. 

Scarred, barren, left alone, confused, misunderstood….

The flowers were separated from their kin, lonely and looked as though they had no job.

And yet.

They were thriving.  They had value.  Their life was important.  They were cheerful.  They were still focused on their purpose.

Like us.

Now.

I was reminded of the scripture where Jesus shared about the birds and the lillies of the field.

How can we ever doubt His love for us?

Even when the field looks hopeless.

~Be Encouraged Today

Tammy