Bring on the sickness

"Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised." ~Denis Waitley

Thanks to being off my medicine for a week, lots of rain with up and down temperatures and then starting new medicine this past Monday evening, it's been a super long week. And, of course as usual, after I was spiritually lit on fire after last Sunday's sermon on an effective prayer life, it kind of all feels like the enemy pouncing on me with both feet. Holding my head under water. You know the feeling I'm talking about, right?

So, how do I prepare for this week then? There is a cold front moving through Ohio today, which makes my fibromyalgia angry and tonight I'm required to double the dose of the medication that I started last week. Knowing how I felt last week, how do I prepare for this week. First things first.....ask for help.

Managing your disease includes managing your attitude regarding your disease. After a long conversation with a wonderful friend, I broke down and asked for help. The first kind of help that I asked for was prayer. A few friends who would commit to praying for my physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Thanks to technology and social networking, my prayer circle includes friends who live a good distance out of town. I figured that way, my prayer help is coming from people that I won't be calling on to help with physical tasks.

The second kind of help is more difficult for me. I asked a couple of friends to help provide a meal this week. I know that my new medicine is going to make me sick for a couple of days again after I double the dose. I need to make sure that my kids are fed, especially if I have sunk all my energy into an 8 hour work day. Chris will return home from Haiti, (for good), late Tuesday night. So I asked for someone to provide dinner on Tuesday evening. I remember hearing a sermon at one time that reminded me that sometimes NOT asking for help is robbing someone of the blessing of serving. I'm trying to keep that idea in the front of my mind when I'm being too prideful to ask for anything.

Lastly, making a space that's completely dedicated to meeting with God.
"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace." ~Matthew 6:6

This is my space. It's quiet. It's surrounded by dirty laundry, and the cat litter box, an old refrigerator, and Christmas decorations. And it's been absolutely perfect. The greatest preparations I can make for being sick is taking it to God. "Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become." ~2 Corinthians 12:7

So, if being sick allows the strength and glory of God to shine through me.....then bring it on.