January 8 2015

January 8 2015 Greetings My Friend My daily trips around Facebook give me hope and confidence to proceed through life. I send off a lot of funny to me anyway pictures. I find myself internalizing many of the Scripture passages I see and pass on. Those remind me again of the faith journey I started years ago and help me to stay on this journey. Somedays I feel so low and then I read “I will never leave you or forsake you, I know the plans I have for you, to prosper you not harm you” and I find myself perking up again. Christmas passages brought me the familiar telling of Jesus’ birth and for some reason I found comfort in the familiar. Other times I read about Jesus’ resurrection and at that point I am giddy with hopeful anticipation of a better day. Many times I read the help sights about Chiari Malformation and find I am not alone. I understand so many things that I have dealt with in my life that now make sense. Right now my heart has been in deep prayer for many of those that are hurting way more than I hurt. Unfortunately surgery for the CM patient only means that the symptoms are halted for a while not permanently so they face multiple surgeries. CM also blends in with many other problems so there are the struggles to face those defects as well. Right now I am in a quiet spell with my difficulties. I have balance issues and dizzy spells. I have learned to eat protein and I am finding my straining headaches come less often. Essential oils and supplements are helping me sleep, breathe and stay calm. Eating healthy is helping me with my weight and exercise helps me bounce back from illness better. My energy level is so much better and chronic fatigue is managed. Today I truly know to work when I can and sit when I can’t. I know that if I do this I will come back with energy again. Christian friends also help me a lot. I feel another support network with my Christian sisters and brothers as they encourage, lift up prayer concerns and such. I have learned to pray throughout the day by lifting up the concerns I find out on Facebook. One of my Chiari friends has had major surgery and has struggled to come back. I have been asking God to intervene for her. Other friends have lost a loved one so I can pray for them. The opportunity to pray for people gives me a sense of purpose. Somewhere along the line I heard that it is easy to pray for those you know and care for but learning to pray for people you don’t know takes my faith deeper. Along the way someone will let me know they are praying for me and I am bewildered that someone else cares for me enough to lift me up in prayer. For me I have felt like I was useless and unwanted more than loved and cared about. These prayers seem to give me a sense of “life”. Junior is the start of my learning that my life has worth. I believe God put us in each others path to speak worth in to each other. He too felt unwanted more than wanted. Junior has always respected me, listened to me and the more he treated me with value and purpose the more I felt that I was truly a child of God’s. I’ve also been able to do the same for Junior and to be honest I have only been able to do this for Junior because I am constantly seeking God’s input as to how I need to fill Junior’s needs. I am fairly certain Junior is seeking God’s guidance in relating to me as well. I have learned that my Christian family is more than the people I attend church with and I see “the body of Christ” with a new set of eyes. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet