Annie's "Chronic Pain & Illness" Page

This Sig Tag is from Devotional Doodles!

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away."
~Revelations 21:4~

Chronic Illness is like Hidden Thorns!

The ROSE is a beautiful and delicate flower. If you just look and don't hold
it you would never know that it has thorns. It looks perfectly "Normal".
Sort of like people who have Chronic Pain. We LOOK perfectly normal to
the eye. BUT we have our own thorns. They tend to keep people away from
us. It may also be our protection or defense mechanism. But without thorns
a Rose Bush wouldn't have the beautiful flowers.

Sort of reminds me of the "PEARL". A pearl starts from a grain of sand.
The "foreign" object is really an irritation or annoyance. But the oyster
takes that otherwise objectionable item and makes something
absolutely beautiful from it.

We too can take the "THORNS" and "GRAINS of SAND" in our life and
make it something beautiful. But we can ONLY do this if we surrender our
whole life, the good and the bad to the Lord. He is the potter and we are
the clay. Let Him mold and make you into something unique and beautiful.

For the Lord really does know what is BEST for us. You may loose things or
people in your life that you think are important BUT the Lord will take the
losses in your life and turn them around to more abundant blessings then
you could ever imagine.

God's Grace is Sufficient.... and "His strength is made perfect in weakness".

"It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I
might learn thy statutes."
~Psalm 119:71~

Thoughts by Annie: The Lord knows all the "stitches" and "colors" and
even the "knots" in our life. But even if we lose a "stitch" or have to
"rip" out a few stitches, the Lord loves us and cares about all the
details in our life. The Lord should be like the needle that holds
the thread. The needle is needed to create the beautiful design, but
it takes us using one stitch at a time to create the big picture. So let
the Lord be the "needle". He is there with you every "stitch" of the
way. Even if you don't see the "needle" when all the necessary
supplies have been put away. You know what was needed to create
your lovely unique design. For without the "needle" to bring everything
together it would just be some colored thread and a piece of fabric.

A Helpful Bible Verse:

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:
for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
~2 Corinthians 12:9~

Thoughts about the Verse from Annie:

This passage is about Paul describing his "thorn in the flesh".
No one knows exactly what his severe affliction was.

Our weakness is a perfect opportunity for us to be examples of God's
divine power and strength that is manifest through and in us.

Most of the leaders in the Old Testament had some problem, either
stuttering or depression just to name a few. But the Lord used them. And
it was why the people could see that it had to be ONLY the Lord
God who could do this.

This also reminds me of the verse "with man this is impossible, but with
God NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE" Matthew 19:26

I know that I am able to have my pages and my Internet Ministry only by
the GRACE of God because of all the I have been through. There is no
other way that I could do what I do.

The LORD does bless us "exceedingly" more and
"beyond" what we can ever imagine.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
~Philippians 4:13~

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through
the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."
~Isaiah 43:1-2~

"The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble;
and he knoweth them that trust in him."
~Nahum 1:7~

"And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And,
behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the
mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD
was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was
not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was
not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."
~1Kings 19:11-12~

When we have a Chronic Illness or Pain we have to go through the Grief Process.
This is so that we can readjust and start to live again.
It won't be our old like we will have a different kind of life.

There are four stages of the grief cycle:
One: DENIAL (I can't believe)
Two: DEPRESSION (I can't handle)
Three: ANGER (I don't understand why)
Four: ACCEPTANCE (I can now see)

Here is an acronym for when you are STRESSED.
Just consider the following words and see if they help:
HALT is an acronym for:
H-ungry A-ngry L-onely T-ired

He's Always There

    When there's no one else around He is there.
    When your sick and all alone He is there.
    If no one will listen to you as you cry out in dispair,
believe me when I tell you He is there.

   Give all your burdens to Him that's why He's there.
   Don't carry that heavy load alone when He's there.
   When we share our burdens with Him He will ease the hurt within,
   Because He loves you He is always there.

   Let Him hold you in His arms for He is there.
   Let Him wipe those tears away for He is there.
   The time is soon to come when we will look upon the Son,
   Just believe until that time He is there.
   Yes! believe our Saviour Jesus Christ is there.
~This lovely poem was written and given to me by Frances Armstrong~

RSD is Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
I have RSD! RSD or RSDS is a neurological problem and one of the
symptoms is constant chronic burning pain. My own personal experience
with RSD is a long story and one for another time. Remission is very
uncommon but not unheard of. It does spread to other parts of the body
and loss of hair and atrophy are very common. People with RSD have good
days and bad days. The weather can make us pretty uncomfortable -
dampness and cold are the worst. Normally it is degenerative but it never
totally goes away. I still have symptoms and problems with both my arms,
legs and left shoulder. Flare ups can be triggered by stress or even the
weather. Stress does not cause it, it just makes it much worse. Our "fight
flight" reactions are intensified and cause alot of problems. The future is
pretty much unknown and each patient is different except that it will
spread. The Lord knows our future and He has a plan even for those that
are sick and can't do much. We can adapt how we use are hands. I use a
lot of "copy and paste", I have my keyboard slanted up high to the monitor
with a wrist thing. Then I put my mouse on a binder on my lap. I put my
arm back so it is back to the back of the chair in a 45 degree angle and I
just use my pointer finger to do a lot of work that way. I also have a step
stool under my feet. You have to do a lot of "adapting" with RSD. Things
that might take someone else a short time to accomplish may take me
longer or I may have to do it differently but people with RSD or other
illnesses can ask the Lord to use them and He will. OK enough about me.
Hope this helped one of you, because if the Lord can use me then He can
use you too!! So have a willing heart and ask the Lord how He wants to use
you and He will show you in His time and His way!!

Thank you Lord! I am amazed and humbled that the Lord can use me to
encourage others with my pages despite all my circumstances.
The GRACE of God is Sufficient!!!!!!!!

Just a few RSD pages to check out:
Pain.Com - has a section on RSD
NINDS - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Home
Page- They have a page about Chronic Pain & RSD Page
Medifocus: Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Handbook

Here are my two favorite links for RSD:
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome - (RSD)
RSD Puzzle List - I has questions & answers

Support from Others Can Makes ALL the Difference!!!!!!!!!!!!

Support and understanding for people with chronic pain/illness is so important.
So often when we lose our health we lose our friends too. We don't look sick
and people just forget we have challenges.

If you have never had to go through your day having only one arm to use it is
hard to describe. You need help from others but it is hard to ask. We want to
be able to do it ourselves but even with adaptive devices we still
may need assistance.

Our independence is one of the first things and the hardest things we have to
give up or adjust to. Today in the world and society people are measured by
"WHAT WE DO". But I have had to learn that it is not "WHAT WE DO" that
is important but "WHO WE ARE". And more important it is not "WHO WE
ARE" but "WHO WE TRUST IN AND BELIEVE IN".

Another site to visit: "Life with a Chronically Ill Parent" by April

If you need some encouragement PLEASE visit my: Annie's Email Encourager Page
Don't be afraid to reach out to others. God has often used Email Encouragers who I
have never met to BLESS me in many ways and comfort me too. Sometimes I think
"Who but the Lord?" could have known that I needed to read a scripture
or word of encouragement right at that moment.