Well my symptoms have returned... but it's ok, God is still on the throne.
I saw a clip of the Dr. Phil show a while back where they had a white person who was prejudice get made up to be a black person for the day to see what it was like to "walk a mile" in a black person's shoes. He also had a skinny person who made fun of fat people wear a fat suit and see what it was like to be a fat person for a day. The idea was to help people see what it was like to walk in someone else's shoes.
I feel that I have been given this opportunity as well. The people in the above example were given the opportunity because they were judging others. My opportunity comes as a side effect of my medication. I have a friend with MS. Some of her side effects are forgetfulness, difficulty thinking clearly and extreme fatigue. I have experienced these symptoms a lot lately. This has helped me to appreciate what my friend is going through.
When I am forgetting what I was saying mid-sentence, remembering something my boss asked me to do two days after he asked me to do it, or just totally not being able to gather my thoughts and think clearly, I think of my friend who has to deal with this daily.
When I am so tired that I have to take a 4 hour "nap" or so exhausted after even the smallest task that I barely have enough energy to talk my heart is drawn to pray for my friend who struggles with this daily. My symptoms will fade away in about a month. Hers have lasted for years.
It is frustrating at times to experience these side effects of the medication that "disrupt" my life but then I remember how it must be for my friend who would like to have enough energy to play with her son more but needs to rest instead. I find myself praying more and more for her as I struggle with these symptoms.
I was struck by something my pastor said during his message today. He was reflecting on all of God's blessings and how God uses our struggles for His glory. He reminded us of a father in our church and his next door neighbors. The father would be out working on the house and all kinds of things would go wrong as he was working outside and the other family noticed that no matter what went wrong the father would just take it in stride and not get upset. This really impacted the family and they eventually started coming to our church. The Lord used this father's trials to bring this family to church.
This challenged me to make sure I trust God in the midst of my trials and to remember that I don't know who all is watching and how the Lord will use this trial to reach out to others.
I feel that I have been given this opportunity as well. The people in the above example were given the opportunity because they were judging others. My opportunity comes as a side effect of my medication. I have a friend with MS. Some of her side effects are forgetfulness, difficulty thinking clearly and extreme fatigue. I have experienced these symptoms a lot lately. This has helped me to appreciate what my friend is going through.
When I am forgetting what I was saying mid-sentence, remembering something my boss asked me to do two days after he asked me to do it, or just totally not being able to gather my thoughts and think clearly, I think of my friend who has to deal with this daily.
When I am so tired that I have to take a 4 hour "nap" or so exhausted after even the smallest task that I barely have enough energy to talk my heart is drawn to pray for my friend who struggles with this daily. My symptoms will fade away in about a month. Hers have lasted for years.
It is frustrating at times to experience these side effects of the medication that "disrupt" my life but then I remember how it must be for my friend who would like to have enough energy to play with her son more but needs to rest instead. I find myself praying more and more for her as I struggle with these symptoms.
I was struck by something my pastor said during his message today. He was reflecting on all of God's blessings and how God uses our struggles for His glory. He reminded us of a father in our church and his next door neighbors. The father would be out working on the house and all kinds of things would go wrong as he was working outside and the other family noticed that no matter what went wrong the father would just take it in stride and not get upset. This really impacted the family and they eventually started coming to our church. The Lord used this father's trials to bring this family to church.
This challenged me to make sure I trust God in the midst of my trials and to remember that I don't know who all is watching and how the Lord will use this trial to reach out to others.
This really isn't a big deal trial either because I know when it will end. The symptoms last about a month. If I start getting migraines at the end of the month and the doctor increases my meds again or if he has to play around with different meds, then it will last a little longer, but compared to what I could be struggling with, this is such a minor trial.
I really have so many wonderful blessings it is amazing. I am grateful that the Lord is revealing to me my many, many blessings through these trials.
Thank you Lord for your unending blessings. I am so undeserving and so grateful.
2 comments:
Thanks for your comment. I'm sorry you're going through so much medically. Have you been diagnoised (I didn't notice from your blog what your medical condition is)? I'll be keeping you in my prayers.
Danielle thanks for your comments and prayers . I have migraines. The doctor's are trying a new medication. They have prepared me that I will have a rough couple months until we find something that works and get the right concoction of meds. The good news is I am not having too many migraines right now, the bad news is there are a lot of side effects, mainly exhaustion, forgetfulness (I am a complete scatter-brain right now)and symptoms similar to morning sickness (nausea, certain foods totally grossing me out, I can't really look at meat.) The symptoms last about a month, but this last time the doctor needed to increase my meds so the symptoms are lasting longer. God is teaching me a lot through all of this, so I am grateful for this trial. Thank you again for your prayers.
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