Coping & Hoping

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

Something came up this morning that led me to thinking about what it means to cope with chronic pain and fatigue.  You see, I have fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.  I was diagnosed with the fiber in 1994 and the RA a few years later.  I continued to work until 2010.  Then the fatigue got so bad that I had to resign.  The head of rheumatology at Oschner's in New Orleans told me that my body could not handle the intense stress related to my job and that it would kill me.  I returned home and resigned.

I thought that I would be lost for things to do, but that didn't last long.  I got involved with my church, have 4 grandchildren living near me, and did crafty things around home to keep busy.  Four years ago, I began the hobby of cake decorating.  I make cakes and cookies for special occasions with my family, friends, and for my church.  What is good about this hobby is that I can do things in stages and pace myself so I don't overdo and pay the price.  Which leads me to the subject of this post.

As I said because of the fatigue, I must pace myself.  When I no I have an event or trip coming up, I try to get extra rest and allow for extra rest after.  I take frequent breaks from any task and try to take a nap every afternoon.  This allows me cope for the most part with my fatigue.  My hope is knowing that Jesus was often tired and He rested and spent time with The Father.  He would go off to a quite place by Himself and pray.  It's okay to take some alone time for yourself.  My hope is knowing that when I need to push through The Lord gives me the courage and perseverance to get it done.

When it comes to the pain, it is much the same.  I need to find a balance of continuing to do the things I need to do and knowing when to back off.  This helps to keep the pain from getting worse.  I take medication to take the edge off and keep going forward.  There are times when I have to just shut things down.  That's okay too.  It's all part of coping with chronic pain.  My hope is in remembering that Jesus suffered much more.  He suffered betrayal and ridicule.  He suffered scourging at the hands of the brutal Romans.  If you don't know what that scourging was, He was tied to a post, the clothes ripped off Him, and was whipped extra numbers of times with a "cat-o-nine-tails" with broken metal and glass tied to the ends.  His flesh was literally ripped from His body.

He then had to carry a heavy wooden cross up a hill, falling 3 times.  They then ripped the cloak they had thrown on him reopening all of His wounds.  And then they pierced His hands and feet as they nailed Him to the cross.  The lifted it into place causing all of His weight to pulled down on nails.  He struggled to breathe and was pierced in His side to ensure that He was dead.  And He forgave us!

If He could endure all of this in all of His humanity, I guess I can endure my pain.  I don't always do it with grace but I do try to join my suffering to His and to remember all those that are suffering more that me.  My hope is knowing that He knows how I feel.  My hope is knowing that I can alway count on His loving embrace.  My hope is knowing that someday I will have a glorified body with no more pain or fatigue in which I will be able to glorify His name for eternity.

Trust in Him, Hope in Him in whatever fatigues you, in whatever caused you pain.  He will set comfort you, guide you, love you and will set you free!

Have courage and persevere!

Connie