Category: Detoured by Affliction

(From my journal, dated November 20, 1999. Just after my first cancer surgery.) At my Lord’s request, I am doing this exercise. I am a needy person. In the past months I have needed: *an alert and caring dentist.*a gentle oral surgeon who was concerned I get proper treatment.*an ENT who insisted on accurate lab…

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29: 11 NLT Lord, as I prepare dinner,I can hear their voices raised against me:“Oh, no! Green vegetables again!”My response is ready:“I am not required…

The changes in my lifeAre causing me much pain;I mourn for what is lost, What cannot come again.The present days are dark, The storm clouds thunder near;I doubt I’ll ever find A place of refuge here. And then I lift my eyesAnd see against the skyIn graceful gossamer,A golden butterfly.I hear my Savior’s voice,“My child,…

Sometimes when we get overwhelmed, we forget how big God is.  A.W. Tozer  “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Matthew 6:34 MSG God…

“Are you depressed?” The doctor was frowning with concern. “No,” I replied. “I’m tired.” “You look depressed,” he said. I know why the doctor suggested depression: it was something he could treat. I looked like a classic case, with my loss of energy, concentration problems, sleep changes. And at the time, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was…

6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this…

My family was also impacted by my illness. By all of it, actually, but hilariously by my difficulty with words. For instance, I could no longer grocery shop but I could write out a list. Sort of. (“What’s clery?” my son wanted to know. Or “I can’t read this, but Mom says it’s in this…

(Written sometime in the summer of 1993, shortly after my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosis.) I am on a journey, a pilgrimage. I am not entirely sure when it began; I do not know where it will end. Right now, my reality is travel, or travail. For this is not only a physical journey; it is…

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.   He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me,…

Excerpt from a letter dated December, 2009: I know things are hard for you right now. When I was thinking of you this morning, these words came to my mind. Isaiah 61: 1-3 NLT The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,    for the Lord has anointed me    to bring good news to the poor.He has sent…