Waiting, Parting, Persevering, Affirming, and Loving are our 5 prompts for the month of October. Joining again with A Chronic Voice is always a thought-provoking exercise that I look forward to. As I study each word it pushes me to express my life with chronic illness in a new way.
Perspective is so important when you live with a chronic illness. I have many chronic illnesses, so I have learned the great need I have for a healthy Perspective in my life. Having multiple chronic illnesses means that I’m faced with a lifetime of sickness and pain. Chronic means that it’s always there and not curable. Having a healthy outlook is the only way to survive the mental part of a chronically ill life.
I get my healthy perspective because of my relationship with Christ. Believing that He has the best for me and a good purpose for my life is what allows me to be at peace. I can even experience daily joy in my circumstances. But, I’m honest enough to say that there are some days that I don’t feel happy. Some days the pain is too intense for me to do anything but survive, and that’s ok.
Waiting
I’m not waiting for a cure. I’m sometimes willing to say that I’m waiting for a better treatment, but I’m certainly not holding my breath. The pharmaceutical industry seems to only care about their profits. They don’t work on chronic conditions, but are actively helping the governmental agencies to take away our options to appropriate levels of pain medication.
Parting
It is such sweet sorrow…as Shakespeare would say. When I’ve parted with one of my adult children to move to another state, I only felt sorrow. It didn’t seem to be sweet at all. As I parted from my home, I also parted from all my doctors. Now, having moved two months ago, I still haven’t found new doctors here. I’ve dreaded it so much, that I’ve just procrastinated. I dread meeting a new doctor who might be less than helpful.
Persevering
My husband often talks about how well I persevere with all that I go through each day. He says that he could never do so well. I don’t know about his reaction, but when you are the patient, there is no other choice but to persevere. Well, it’s the only choice if you are alive.
I find that I’m continuing to persevere in my attempts to be a blogger. I started blogging in 2013 and fell in love with it. I love writing, and have since high school. It benefits me tremendously and I hope to share encouragement and knowledge with my sweet readers. Although my blogs haven’t been successful in a monetary way, I will persevere because I have goals. (You can find my other blog HERE).
Affirming
Affirmations are very popular now. Most of the affirmations I see today are self-motivating statements. These tend to be very bold statements saying to the world that “I can do it” . These very humanistic statements leave no need for the Almighty. These are meant to be statements of fact to bolster the confidence of the reader. As a Christian, I know that the verses in the Bible teach that we’re dependent on God. I know that in these 57 years I’ve lived that I can do all things with Christ, who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
Loving
Loving my family is so easy. Loving myself is a daily struggle. Sometimes it’s easier to love my neighbor than myself. Although I never envisioned myself to end up this way, I am. I still struggle with self-acceptance, but look to God for the faith to go on from a very different place.
@2019 copyright Lisa Ehrman
Disclaimer: I’m not a medical expert. This post contains my opinions. If you have a medical concern, please consult your personal physician.
The post A Positive Perspective Of Chronic Illness appeared first on Chronically Content.
