3 Things Chronic Illness Has Taught Me

I felt like a horse, ready at the gate to race when suddenly shot up with tranquilizers, although “tranquil” was the furthest thing from my heart. I was so ready to go and do, to live my dreams, to run my race.

Chronic illness was the unforeseen enemy, the arrow in Achilles’ heel.

What started as a relatively simple and common illness with the doctor’s admonition to rest for a few weeks has become a two-year battle against a fatigue and vulnerability that has tethered me to my home and drained me of energy.

What started as a common illness with the doctor’s admonition to rest for a few weeks has become a two-year battle against a fatigue that has tethered me to my home and drained me of energy. Yet in God's great redemptive power, He’s let my heart grow and learn, even while my physical body has been battered and weakened. Come read three of the things the Lord has taught me through ongoing illness. #ChristianBlog

It has been a most unwelcomed challenge – one that has taught me deep lessons. I can’t say that I’ve been especially receptive to the lessons as I can see clearly that this illness is from the enemy. Nevertheless, the Lord redeems all things, turning for our good even the things that did not come from Him. So, in His great redemptive power, He’s let my heart grow and learn, even while it has felt that my physical body has been battered and weakened.

I also must admit that though I have learned these things, I still have days that are frustrating and places where my newly acquired lessons butt up against my desire to break free from what is dragging me down. And I will declare to you that I expect wholeness to return to me. I expect the healing Jesus died to obtain for my physical body. In fact, my fatigue has improved quite a bit over the last few months, which is a bit inexplicable, given my blood work results.

Nevertheless, I am all about moving forward, armed with the wisdom that God has sown into my heart. What good is a struggle, if we cannot learn from it and become more like Jesus through it? And even though I have learned these lessons in the forge of chronic illness, they are lessons I choose to retain even as I heal and my energy level returns to normal. To that end, here are three of the things the Lord has taught me through ongoing illness and fatigue:

I have learned some important things, Friends. And even though I have learned these lessons in the forge of chronic illness, they are lessons I choose to retain even as I heal. They are life lessons that I needed to learn regardless of life’s circumstances. Come check out the blog and read about three of the things the Lord has taught me through ongoing illness and fatigue. #ChronicIllness #LifeQuotes

1.       The first thing I've learned is that the Lord has a lot more grace for me than I have for myself. I knew intellectually, and in some measure, that the Lord wasn't a hard taskmaster, but hearing Him tell me to rest when I need to and sensing His tender correction when I have failed to rest as needed has given me an experiential knowledge that He isn't driving me to get more done. He isn’t commanding me to do all that others demand I do or to fulfill my own expectations for what I think I should be able to accomplish each day. As I knew, but had not experienced to this degree, my Abba is a gentle Shepherd. And as the Lord has surprised me with the amount of grace He has for me, I've learned to have more grace for myself.

2.       I've learned some practical things that add to my strength: Take a real lunch break every day; don’t fill it with other tasks. Do more things that bring life to me (like sketching or taking a few minutes each day in my backyard to look at the flowers and hummingbirds). I’ve learned to stop working at 5pm and take a real Sabbath rest each week. The Lord had been working on me for some years on these things, but I take them even more seriously now. Practically speaking, I’m also getting better at accepting help and grace from others. Accepting the Hub’s help on things has also been an important and stretching experience.

3.       Finally, trusting the Lord in this new area has been a great lesson. The Lord knows how much energy I have been given each day. If there are things I can't get to, I have to trust Him with it. Frankly, I have to trust Him with the opinions of people who I feel are judging my lack of energy, my faith, and my boundaries. Trust, as in nearly every life lesson, is the lesson that does me the most good, that draws me closer to the Lord and reminds me that my life is in His hands.

I wouldn't wish illness on others, but in this broken world we inhabit, evidence of its brokenness can impact our physical bodies. And while we stand in faith for healing, we live in the gap between trusting the Lord for better things and trusting Him in our current realities. Amid all of that, I really hope and pray that I am learning whatever lessons the Lord is teaching me through it.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

To read more about “Blooming in the Ashes,” Click HERE!

I just read a book by my Friend, Sue Boldt, containing her testimony of healing from cancer (Non-functioning Adrenocortical Carcinoma). It is titled, “Held in His Hands” and was a real encouragement to me! If you would like a copy, find it HERE on Amazon!