“That is why I ask you, imprisoned in the Lord, to walk worthy of the vocation to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1).
I am 33 years old and diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in early summer 2017. My husband Pete and I have three children in preschool and we are planting churches in Barlanark, Glasgow.
- After having our twins in May 2015.
- I began to have unbearable pain in several joints.
- Which disappeared and reappeared.
- A few weeks later.
- In another joint.
- Every time I went to see a doctor to see this.
- The pain was gone or I was told to monitor it with painkillers and return if it got worse.
- This has become very frustrating!.
Finally, I went to a rheumatologist and was diagnosed with “atypical” rheumatoid arthritis. RA is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the joints, to which a person is genetically predisposed and which can develop at any time.
When I heard the news, I had no idea how much change the disease would bring to my life, it was only after a few weeks that I read it online, then the fear appeared: the fear of standing still, with crooked hands. and feet and become a burden to others. The poisonous bitterness entered me and I was paralyzed in my mind. I didn’t go to church this weekend, feeling completely lost and unable to stop crying. I beat like a bird in a hammock the day “life” interfered with my faith. Thoughts like, “Doesn’t God want me to be able to take care of my family?” they were running through my head.
Like disciple Peter, I looked at the waves and flowed
Is the pain now? Focused on my knees and wrists, getting worse in the morning. This has significantly affected family life, as Pete has had to leave work to do simple things, such as dressing children or helping them go to school. affects the trust of others in him. I often feel guilty about it and there have been many tears, but I am grateful to have a patient and loving husband who shows me Christ right now.
I started this blog with Paul’s words about living a life worthy of our vocation What do I say then, can a disease be a call?I think it might be! Calls are not just for missionaries and pastors.
So how can you call RA when you stand in the way of my ministry as a church implanting wife?
This question, which I always ask, shows my misunderstanding about how God works. Is it natural for us to see the ‘circumstances? Like an interruption of life. When our church establishment team dispersed last year and?Hope Community Church Barlanark?not published as expected, it would have been easy to see it as an interruption or a mistake, but we had to trust that God’s time was perfect in the face of apparent failure. Do not misunderstand me, we were not walking with a sacred glow, unaffected; it was a daunting moment.
However, despite my personal resistance to his plan at times, I know the truth: “For as far as the inner man is concerned, I enjoy the law of God,” as Paul describes it in Romans 7:22.
Jesus reaches out to me daily his merciful hand and saves me from the net. After “this weekend” I ended up exhausted and asked Jesus what He was teaching me. Fortunately, the Word of God has much to say about suffering. It is a guarantee, thing, remember, God spoke to Job afflicted by the same whirlwind that destroyed his family (Job 38), but God remains whole and good.
“We also boast of tribulations themselves, knowing that tribulation produces resistance”, Romans 5. 3.
Suffering for the Christian is never unnecessary or meaningless. It’s productive.
Of course, this doesn’t mean we should pretend to be happy even when we’re in agony. I hope you don’t consider my words irreverent suffering. I know I only drink the drink that many should drink every day. The Psalms are llenos. de sadness, but this is not the end. Is there a golden thread of hope that runs through all the books of the Bible?The hope of a Savior, and that Savior changes everything. One day the pain will end, the tears will be erased and our bodies will be restored to a glorious perfection beyond our imagination, the certainty of every Christian.
At the age of seven, my brother was paralyzed for three months by a virus in his brain, destroying his memory and abilities. My father still speaks with tears as he recalls Jesus’ words about his dying friend, Lazarus:?This disease is not for death, but for the glory of God, for the Son of God to be glorified ?, John 11 4
It is a passage that God used to speak deeply to my parents during this season and since then, my brother recovered much more than expected, but no one came out unscathed, the pain continues, but we do not despair.
So shouldn’t we pray for healing?I asked God to take away my pain and, fortunately, the medication I’m currently using is working; however, it weakens the immune system and has unpleasant side effects. It’s the journey of my life and there’s probably going to be more pain to come. . But I praise God for medicine, doctors, and this season of relief.
Of course, we must pray for healing, but with an obedient and confident heart, consciously aligning ourselves with his will, without bending it toward our own.
So, reader? What’s your calling
We have guaranteed difficulties, but we are all called to suffer for the glory of God and the breath of others, knowing that “our light and momentary tribulation gives us an eternal weight of glory, especially of comparison” (2C 4. 17). .