Dear Fellow
Sufferers, do you feel sometimes
less worthy as a woman, wife, mother
and homemaker because of your
illness? At times like these,
fibromyalgia/CFS, lupus and other
diseases that cause chronic pain,
can become very lonely diseases.
And self-fulfilling ones.
It does seem
unfair that not only do we have this
accursed disease but that we feel
obliged to defend ourselves
constantly! Sometimes even to
doctors! Families can often be the
worst with their taunts about being
a hypochondriac and demanding we get
a job! Why don’t they realize just
breathing is a job some days??
Because I walk in
your shoes, may I offer you some
advice and comfort? Come and let me
offer comfort with these words-
thoughts that come from bearing one
of the heaviest loads imaginable:
chronic pain and illness whilst
trying to be a good wife, mother and
homemaker.
My friend, are we
not the best of loving wives and
mothers, homemakers, servants of our
family and the LORD? We don’t throw
in the towel and give up because we
can’t- we have our families and home
to look after- but we draw on all
our innermost reserves to give to
our families what is needed when we
just want to crawl back into bed and
vegetate. Do we? Not as much as we
want!
We show great
devotion, endurance, and
self-sacrifice with our limited
energy and draw closer to God than
perhaps most healthy women would do.
Why? Because it is harder for us!
Isn't it more valuable in spiritual
terms to deny oneself the rest and
ease we would love to indulge in,
than to achieve the "honor" of
having the most spotless of homes
etc with relatively little cost as
regards personal denial and physical
pain? Kind of like Jesus's parable
of the widow's mite- she gave all
she had and the others gave of their
abundance! Do you not see the
correlation? We give our all, not
just a little of the abundance of
our strength. Surely then for us,
are we not more worthy of honor and
appreciation? I would say so!
And so I would
encourage you to realize that you do
not have to take the taunts and
demands to heart, nor let it settle
in your spirit. You do not have to
defend yourself incessantly to
anyone, because you are doing far
more already than most people of
lesser fortitude would do.
Furthermore, God hears our sighs and
pleas, He knows we are but dust and
knows our frame- He most of all
identifies with our weaknesses! Will
He not say "Well done Thou good and
faithful servant" to us who struggle
to serve others every day when our
flesh cries out for compassion and
being served ourselves?
In
moments like these, I cling close to
Christ and let His compassion
and grace wash over me afresh- for
without His closeness I would never
get up some mornings!
With the Psalmist, let us dwell on God for our strength as we cry, "I love
you LORD my strength!" Psalm 18:1
© Glenys Robyn Hicks 2005
