Finding Hope When You're Physically Down

How Do You Keep Going When You're Physically Down?

Today, as I was going through several subjects that customers have requested I discuss in my newsletter, I found one thing which keept coming up over and over again.  Actually, it has been asked on a regular basis for many years now.
 
I has always been my goal to respond to your questions with a personal note – an email, or a call when necessary.  But, alas, I finally realized it was impossible to personally answer each and every one.  This is one of the major reasons that Best of Nancy and Grow With Nancy were formed; I wanted to be able to talk to you and answer your questions so others could benefit from each question and answer – they were all so similar.

These are some of the questions I have received, all basically asking the same thing:

• "What do you do when you're physically down?"
• "How in the world do you make wreaths, maintain several websites, send out newsletters, and manage a membership site while fighting health issues?"
• "How can 'I' function when I am feeling so badly?"
• "How have you kept going as you fight Fibromyalgia and Celiac Disease?"
• Wow, I'm overwhelmed!  Please tell me where do I start?

 First of all, I encourage you to look around you today. Do you appreciate the beauty you see in a smile, in nature, and in those who are dear to you?  Or, in a newborn baby?

Although I am in a lot of pain today, I am getting to enjoy our new grandson, Brendan Cole Alexander. You see… he is only one day old and SO very precious.

I wish you could see him. He weighed close to 9 pounds, and I knew yesterday when I was reaching for and holding that sweet little miracle that I would hurt. Did that stop me? Absolutely not!

Did I know that I would really pay for it last night and today and… for who knows how many more days to come? Of course I did! But, that doesn't matter. It didn't stop me. I enjoyed every second with him in my arms, and will do it again and again!

So, today I am sitting at my computer writing this with a very large ice pack on my back, a smile on my face, and a heart filled with joy.

I could have sat and felt sorry for myself while looking at that precious bundle of joy knowing how it would hurt me to hold him. But, I still would have been in some pain today or I may have unintentionally done something else which would have caused my fibromyalgia to flare up. My decisions now to situations like this are "do what you want"; "do what makes you smile"; and enjoy every single second!
 
"I am only passing through this moment…" ~Beth Moore
 
 Chronic illnesses are a severe problem for many of you, not just me.
 
Pain was (notice I saw 'was') the main focus of my life for so many years.  It colored the way I thought and felt, and reacted to the world around me.

It is hard to see the beauty in a flower, a sunset or sunrise, or a brand new baby when you are giving in and suffering in silence.  It is hard to think of doing something that would make your day productive when it is clouded with something which has such a deep, dark hold on you.
 
 My answer was… and is… "God".
 
I don't know where I would be today without all of the miracles God has worked in my life. 

I do know that I would not be sitting here at my computer writing to you, my friends, students, and faithful followers – were it not for God and all the Miracles "He" has performed in my life. 

I know without a doubt that He arranged for me to be sent to each "Professional" who finally diagnosed and treated the causes of my illness.
 
I am speechless when I think of the people who were sent into my life to encourage, uplift, inspire, diagnose and help me heal.
 
Jim Cockrum and I have talked about this many times – we call them "Divine Appointments"!  You may not believe in those, and if so, that certainly is your choice.
 
I don't want to impose my faith on you knowing that every person has their own beliefs, but in telling a story of me – "Beautifully, Broken Me" (as my friend Molly Alexander writes in her blog), I cannot forget the obvious and must share with you how I got to this point in my life.  That's what many of you have been asking me all these years. 

I do believe God has led me on a path for many years for a specific purpose – that is to be able to help and encourage YOU!

"By picking up the pieces of a broken life and putting them back together, a person cannot help but be changed.  This change is a beautiful thing that results in a deeper understanding of others and their situations, and gives us a chance to share our experiences with them, showing them that there is a way out – a light at the end of the tunnel."
 
"I believe that I have not just been broken, but put back together by God in a beautiful way – a way that I could have never imagined on my own."  ~Molly Alexander~

Isn't it amazing that I can now see, live, and enjoy the beauty around me?  And, oh, how I want to give you a sense of hope, joy and peace in "Your Beautifully Broken Life" too!

Blessings… Nancy