Tag Archives: pain

My Valley Fever and Sweets Syndrome Journey Chapter 1

December 4, 2020Valley Fever/Sweets Syndrome JourneyChristian encouragement, encouragement, God's gifts, God's love, Godslove, pain, rash, Sweets Syndrome, Trials, tribulations, Troubles, Valley FeverT.W. Allgaier

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

THUD!

November 22, 2020God's Encouragement through Nature, Spiritual Encouragementbird, Hebrews 10:23, Hope, hope in Christ, hurt, Matthew 6:26, painT.W. Allgaier

THUD!

“What was that?”

My husband and I looked at one another. We had heard something hit the window, and we knew immediately.

We glanced out the window and saw a sweet little bird laying on our concrete walkway. He looked dead.

“I will go pick him up,” said my husband.

“Just leave him there for a few minutes, maybe he is just stunned,” I said with hope.

It did not look good for the bird. But my husband granted my wish, and waited.

Forty-five minutes passed by and the bird no longer looked dead, but had gotten into an upright position. He looked like he was bracing himself against a horrible wind, or terrible head ache.

“Did you see the bird?” I yelled into the other room.

Another hour passed before I could bring myself to look. He had vanished. He took to the sky, although I am sure with a serious headache or concussion.

Isn’t that just like life these days, especially 2020?

THUD!

You have been knocked to the ground.

You gather your senses and get in the upright position.

God lifts you up to fly again.

You may have to fly without a loved one.

You may have to fly with a permanent disability.

You may have to fly with pain and sorrow.

But you fly.

With Christ’s hope.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

Hebrews 10:23

~Be Encouraged Today~Tammy

Smudges

July 15, 2020encouragement, Spiritual Encouragement2020, Colossians 3, confusion, encouragement, encouragement in Christ, Ephesians 6, fix your eyes, Hope, our focus, pain, peace, pressures, smudges, spiritual battle, TruthT.W. Allgaier

Do you remember the character from the Charlie Brown series that was called “Pig Pen”? He seemed to have somewhat of a smile on his face and smudges of dirt all over his clothes and face. He also had a cloud of dust that was surrounding his legs and feet.

Isn’t that a perfect example of how we all feel right now? The smudges are all of our “normal” pressures that go with living this life on planet earth. Everyone is going through some kind of issues. We have illnesses with loved ones, know of friends and family with no jobs, cancer, divorces, family pressures…the list goes on.

Those are the smudges all over us.

Then add the worldwide pandemic and unrest, the national issues on top of all of that…

That cloud of dust that follows Pig Pen around is there with all of us.

The Father has been leading me to several passages of scripture lately. And basically they all say….”Keep your eyes off the smudges, because if you rub them they just get worse, they won’t always go away. Keep your eyes on the Father and the source of those battles, they are not what you think.”

I think the cloud and smudges are not going any where honestly. So we have a choice…where does our focus need to be? I know that I need that reminder over and over.