Friday, December 21, 2018

His strength is perfect

Today I received some crushing news from a friend. I was lost for words which for those of you who know me understand that is not a easy task. I am fighting to write this through my tears. Life is just not fair. My dear sweet friend Lisa is facing battles no one should face. Her little son bubs who is only a wee 4 years old is battling brain cancer. And as if that is not enough this week Lisa found out she herself is battling breast cancer. When I read her post on Facebook I said how can they go on? Some battles are to hard to great to overcome. They must feel like a mountain is on top of them? How can she have a once of strength left her in bones? As I sat in silence and prayed the gentle Holy Spirit reminded me of this song by Steven Curtis Chapman.  His strength is Perfect. It is a song that the Lord has brought to me time and time again when I just felt like I could not go on.. 
The lyrics are taken from

 2 Corinthians 12:9 
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

My favorite part of the song is these words

His strength is perfect when our strength is gone
He'll carry us when we can't carry on
Raised in His power, the weak become strong
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect

Lisa starts her treatment Christmas eve. If you like Lisa and her Husband Matt and this son Bubs are facing a battle that seems like you have no strength to fight remember his strength is made perfect in our weakness. I know because of Jesus and his work on the cross  you can not be defeated! His grace is sufficient and by his power  you can be raised up! May the Power of Christ can rest of you! Please pray for Bubs, Please pray for Lisa and Matt. If you would like to read more about their story or can help them during in this season please check out their gofundme page by following this 
link. https://www.gofundme.com/standwithlilman?member=932764&fbclid=IwAR148zjT-DURN8cvbsXe_c2Bm3wGT8lRjqqtTsRLdaRsMF9miDptCucZw2E

I do not own the rights to any of the Lyrics or music. 
https://youtu.be/QGC9KT918Kk




Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Unsolicited advice

   If you are a human being living on planet earth you have experience the phenomenon of unsolicited advice. From your Mother or your neighbor. Maybe a troll on social media. They scream you need to do this or you need to stop doing that. It worked for my aunts cousins mother. You should listen to me not your Dr.
 
    Most healthy people I know don't really understand the loops I have had to hop threw to get a handle on my body. It is a every day juggle. I try so hard not to react harshly to your unsolicited advice. But some days I just can't help it. Today is one of those days. This week the unsolicited advice given to me was just judgement based off someone else option or their experience.


     Social media has become the king of unsolicited advice. Everybody has some and everybody shares it with no filter. It is easy to pass judgment on someone life when you are not living it. History always tells a story but the people who live the story are the only ones who know all the intimate details. The rest of us have to use our imagination or as my friend Jim Loomer says we have to use our imaginetor. Imagination is a made up place where anything can happen. Facts don't matter only what I dream up in my brain.  Mr Roger's took  us  there as a child. All fairy tales and cotton candy clouds.  Life and its harsh reality is not always filled with fairy tales and cotton candy but more like pain and heartache. So please keep this in mind when giving unsolicited advice to someone who is chronically ill. If we made the decision to stop working, we gave it a lot of thought.  If we made the decision to stop treatment, we gave it a lot of thought. If we made the decision to try a new form of treatment we researched it. While the healthy world has normal jobs to spend hours on a chronically ill persons only job is self care. It never ends 24 hours 7 days a week 365 days a year. We spend hours reading and talking to others about it. We have sought out expert advice. We have gathered every piece of medical information available to read over and over again. But most of all we have our experience. We live with our pain and symptoms us all the time. You can not know what it is like to live inside my body.  If we find a glimmer of hope in some new snake oil someone is selling will look into it. But as they say the proof is in the pudding. My experience is that I have keep a open mind when it comes to my health. If being chronically ill has taught me one thing as a Christian it is not to cast judgment on others. I can only look from the outside of their story. Maybe today taking a shower was a huge accomplishment for someone. Maybe that person you see pop a pill out at dinner is not a drug addict but rather just trying to enjoy a less painful dinner out with friends. Maybe that Mom you see sitting in her car  appearing to be smoking is really just taking hit off her medical marijuana vape so she can bare the pain of going food shopping for her family. Maybe that friends who house is a wreak this week is dealing with boned-crushing pain this week due to the onset of winter. Maybe that family who is eating leftovers is giving Mom the night off because she just can not stand long enough to cook tonight. Your unsolicited advice and judgement hurts the person who is just trying to live. It causes them to feel less of a person which is why they hide how they live. For fear of public back lash they hide the truth of how they have to live. Before you give unsolicited advice to anyone remember me. Because this has been my experiences. All of them. I am just a girl chronically ill girl who loves Jesus and wants to live to serve him. My tool box for pain may not look like you think it should but its OK because it is mine not yours.

Up from the Ashes

The phrase  rises like a  phoenix from the ashes  is based on a story that goes back thousands of years. But what if life just keeps heapin...