Living with Chronic Pain

Note: I posted this to my Instagram and Facebook last week. I wasn't planning on pushing it out anywhere else, but I think it's something I need to share. I live with pain. I have a great life, but I don't want to hide the part of life that really hurts.  So, here's a little photo and caption I shared last week when I was living in the pain. ♥

I’m waking up to day three of limited mobility. My edema flared up majorly this weekend and has affected my feet and legs to the point of not being able to do much walking. As I sat on the floor to get ready Sunday morning, since standing was uncomfortable, I wanted to pout a bit. I prayed and poured out to God my frustrations and limitations. I don’t normally do Bible study on Sunday mornings. I know I should. The rush of getting ready for church and the busyness of the day means I prioritize other things...like an afternoon nap. I also get spiritually fed really well on Sundays, but I’m starting to see that I need to be feeding myself that day too. While I was pouting, I ached for comfort from God. So I read my daily devotion, which happened to be about God placing us in hard situations for a purpose. Then I picked up my daily Bible reading, which was from Job and how God had a purpose in his pain that was not punishment as one of his friends believed. Those two readings sustained me as I spent most of the rest of day in bed, healing and resting. I’m still not very mobile, and I still have some aches, but this time has forced me to slow down, think, and ponder on what God is doing through my pain. I also have some really cute caretakers checking on me. We all have different pains and reasons for those pains, but God can sustain us and teach us through them all.