Chronic Illness/Overcoming Adversity

You are your body’s top expert; pay attention to it

Good health is a gift. Two of the most important aspects to maintaining wellness are knowing your body and paying attention to the signals it sends. While these may seem trivial, it can be tough to remember to do when facing challenges. After my miraculous healing in 2007, I resolved to respect my body and [...]

Free yourself from the norm. Express your true self.

During long periods of my childhood, I didn’t have many friends. At that point, I didn’t understand that it was because I wouldn’t conform to what others were doing, acting or saying. While I didn’t have insight into who I truly was at such a young age, I still followed an inner compass that guided [...]

Beating yourself up is unproductive

If you’re like me, you put pressure on yourself whether it’s to get all your errands done or to achieve success in a specific area. Then, when it doesn’t pan out as you expected or as quickly as you wanted, you blame and get upset with yourself. This mindset is unproductive at best. The rougher [...]

Sometimes in life you can only control your reaction

When my illness reached its worst, I spent almost all of my time in bed (or on the couch). My life seemed completely out of my control. My health severely restricted any physical activity. I couldn’t earn enough money to support myself. And, if I wanted to read a book, I couldn’t as I didn’t [...]

Being mired in difficult circumstances doesn’t mean you’re a bad Christian

As those who’ve read A Reluctant Spirit know, I once suffered greatly from Post Viral Neurasthenia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. For years, I was almost completely bedridden and suffered great pain and cognitive impairment. At about my lowest point, a “friend” declared, “If you were a better Christian, you would’ve been healed by now.” He [...]

My resolution: To live like a short-timer

Last month I had blood drawn to determine the cause of some recent persistent health issues. During the 10-day wait for results (I’m happy to say they came back negative), I faced a tiny possibility that I could have a rare cancer, one with a fatal prognosis of six months. Of course, I aggravated my [...]

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