Be blessed in your calling.
My new wheels
So, the MRI results are in. I have a meniscus tear, fabella, torn posterior crucius ligament, bursitis and osteo arthritis behind the patella. It needs surgery as it does not repair itself.
I am to see an orthopaedic surgeon and meanwhile I must rest the knee and use pain killers.
We have bought a shower chair and a wheelchair. I have had Chris push me on the seat of my walker, but it is a big strain on his heart and I worry about him.
It is difficult to focus enough to write at the moment and I spend a lot of time on the couch aka the beach, or in bed with my electric blanket.
I am just able to stand enough to wash some dishes, cook a meal and stack the washer and dryer. Chris helps sometimes and has been my legs.
I am making use of the slow cooker a lot, cooking the meals as I am able to stand.
As with all new health issues, I am trying to come to terms with this "new normal" and the constant struggles with fibromyalgia are now "normal" and this new challenge is calling for all my ability to accept my new lot in chronic illness.
I am disheartened that both my knees have now given way (I have a torn meniscus in my other knee), and am trying to feel grateful that I could afford a wheelchair. Thank goodness for afterpay.
I am trying to be thankful for my new wheels, and I am also trying to give this new situation over to the LORD. I guess it's all a part of grieving what I have lost and accepting it, and not giving way to self-pity. It's hard.
However romantic a picture I can find really doesn't cut it for me as I struggle to accept that I am now wheelchair bound, and instead of a new car, a wheelchair is my new wheels.
The stuff dreams are made of
Now is the time to be awake- the Rapture is by all accounts, imminent. Jesus is coming for us soon.
And as we look around and see the beginning of the birth pains, we can see that staying here is not so attractive: that would be a nightmare for real.
But looking up and waiting for Jesus to come for us is the end of that awful dream for us as believers: we are not appointed for the wrath of God.
A heavenly mansion awaits us with eternity spent with our LORD. His Word is our promise. The believer's future is bright and full of hope and is the stuff dreams are made of.
I am not ashamed
Coping with anxious thoughts
We’ve been in semi-isolation because of covid19 for 4 weeks today. It is very similar to how we live our lives as older, semi-retired people. So, we’re not doing too badly here. I do miss my children coming ’round and I miss all the sweet little grandchildren being here.
It is a little harder for my husband who is newly without a job from being laid off. I say newly, but he’s been without work for 6 moths now. Still, it’s new for him, he has worked all our married lives and longer. So, I think it is a little harder for him to adjust. I, on the other hand have been ‘at home’ for over 35 years.
Since I am an old hand at being at home, I have a work flow, a way of doing things and getting things done, resting, participating in hobbies, chatting with friends online and then doing more work, that he is just now developing for himself. But in all, we’re staying busy.
This is the key to being content during this strange time in our world: staying busy. You remember of course that old saying that idle hands are the devil’s workshop? I also believe that an idle mind is his workshop.
But by staying busy I don’t necessarily mean work, work, work til you drop! What I mean is, your mind needs to be occupied with noble thoughts and good things instead of worry and sin.
It is possible to go sit under the tree outside and rest and still be busy with positive and good things.
Don’t dwell on tomorrow.
Don’t worry about yesterday.
Don’t stress that you can’t do more today.
Just do what you have in front of you to do.
It might be dishes, preparing a meal. It may be reading a book or drawing a picture.
Write that letter.
So, stay busy friends. Find some project that you would like to have done at your house or in your self and work on it. Whether it is a puzzle that has sat on the shelf for too long or cleaning out a room, starting a new Bible study or weeding a flower bed, now is the time to do it.
This will all end and you’ll be able to do more, go places and enjoy friends again. In the mean time, do what you can and do it well.
Pain changes people!
Give us the comfort of Jesus~
OK. So I am obese. After 3 heart stents, an underactive thyroid that took years to diagnose, fibromyalgia, Scheurrmanns Disease, spinal stenosis, hole in the heart and a torn meniscus in the left knee plus years of Prednisolone due to polymyalgia rheumatica, I don't move around much.
Every single one of the 30 pills I must take daily add to my chronic fatigue and lack of alertness. I eat healthy food and keep to 1200 cals a day. Due to meds, I must eat with them and I cannot fast- but I have tried. To make a simple equation in physics help me lose weight, I would be able to consume a plate of lettuce once a day. Which is unreasonable and unsustainable.
I am very close to God and am under absolutely no conviction that I am either a glutton or a consistent sinner. I am however, absolutely constantly reassured of a God Who loves me as a Father loves His child and I confess I cling to Him in my daily living with chronic illness and consequent obesity.
To have prideful and uncompassionate people act like Jobs' Comforters is no help at all and very unChristlike. Where is grace? Why the judgements? Thank God we have one Judge and Advocate: I thank God it's Jesus.
In quietness comes strength
Giving in is not giving up!
Circles of her life.
Sure dwelling places
Travelling on the path of illness
Once when we went to bed, we would expect to go straight to sleep, have pleasant dreams and wake up refreshed. Now we often watch the clock go round, drift off if we are lucky and dream of pain as we toss and turn in our sleep, only to wake up feeling like a truck has hit us.
Hanging on for dear life
I have to agree!
There's still much ongoing debate about the ability of a mask to stop the spread of the virus, but with a $200 fine for not wearing one, most of us will do so, albeit begrudgingly.
Another reason I will wear a mask is because of love. People generally feel more secure when others wear a mask, so out of love and respect for their concerns, I will put one on. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:13
Keep on keeping on while we wait for Jesus
Resolve to keep close to Christ and to share to others whenever possible that they need to know Jesus as their Saviour NOW. But, be glad for whatever calling you are in now, and keep on keeping on.
Never out for the count
With all that is going on with the world at the moment, it is easy to feel depressed and worried. But no matter how we feel, we can stand in faith knowing that we are set apart by God. Nothing happens to us that hasn't been permitted by the LORD. It is valuable for learning to trust Him as we walk in our sanctification.
There will be moments or days when sickness or circumstances overwhelm us and we may get knocked down but we will rise again. God has promised never to leave us as orphans. He is before us and beside us.
We may be perplexed, buffeted about and feeling shipwrecked, but as we cling to Jesus and trust in Him, we will never be out for the count!
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 2 Corinthians 4:8-9