I opened the messaging app for perhaps the fortieth time that day. All of my friends were busy, and I knew that, but I still felt lonely. Something about this felt familiar. I was transported back to my teen years, when many of my friends didn’t understand my chronic illness, and I often felt forgotten. […]
We’re so excited to start a new series! Between other, more devotional-type posts, we’ll be sharing the personal testimonies of women who are (or have been) in the valley of chronic illness. We hope their stories and words of encouragement can be a blessing to you! Launching this series for us is Lorraine. Thank you, […]
The word kept appearing throughout the week: in my morning devotions, in my notes from Sunday School, in that little sermon reminder I’d sketched for myself at least a year ago, still lying on my desk. PERSPECTIVE In Hebrews 10:34, the writer commends his brothers for suffering the loss of their goods with joy. I […]
I love driving down Main Street. At night. When the streets are empty and the air is quiet and only a few people move on the sidewalk under the glowing lamps. Put me on Main Street in the middle of the day, however, and you’ll find me gripping the steering wheel with both hands, gritting […]
The New Year can be a time of thrill, excitement, anticipation, and hope as we plan events, set goals, make changes, and look ahead to fresh adventures. But what about those of us whose daily lives won’t change, whose diagnoses and conditions will stay the same, whose struggles will be just as difficult on January […]
Last week we talked about waiting for Christmas, waiting in chronic illness, and waiting in unanswered prayer. This week is about how to wait in a chronic illness. Waiting in Action We know God will answer our prayers eventually–if not here on Earth, at least in Heaven. So what do we do while we wait? […]
Waiting for Christmas “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5 This passage appears in many Christmas sermons and Scripture readings as we […]
In Fiction: A Type of Christ’s Sufferings I recently read one of my favorite series, a YA fantasy series by Megan Whalen Turner. In the second book, one of the main characters suffers a severe injury that leaves him permanently handicapped. He spends the rest of the book struggling through the physical and emotional aftermath […]
Snip. “Ouch! Mr. Husbandman, why did you just cut one of my stems off? I especially liked that one. I loved admiring it and wanted to keep and treasure it always. Why did you take from me what I valued so much?” “Because, dear branch, that stem was hampering new growth. If I had left […]
“So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.” Job 2:13 The book of Job, while offering a study of human suffering, also presents a study of human emotion, particularly the emotions experienced […]
The Valley