
I thank God that He keeps me going, though I have a chronic disorder called Fibromyalgia (and that’s bundled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), along with my unstable asthma and morbid obesity challenges.
I’ll talk to different folks about their struggles, and I know that somehow I’ve pressed past the places they got stuck. That’s not me bragging. I know that for every wall I pressed through I was crying out prayers, throwing tantrums of “why ME!?”, and really REALLY trying to find ways around what I had to do (exercise, rest, avoid certain foods, s-t-r-e-t-c-h stiff limbs, etc.). So there’s nothing to brag about, just a gratitude that I didn’t stop where others had to stop.
It doesn’t help when others will dismiss my weakness with over considerations or just plain impatience with my limits. But I honestly understand that brattitude easily because I share it. I get mad at my weakness(es), and impatient with my limits, too. I have to learn more grace for the journey, even if I don’t find it outside of myself. It’s just part of the cost. In spite of it all, God has pulled me beyond what I thought I could do, and even beyond what I might settle for.
I still deal with barriers, but none that keeps me from working full-time, or from living a life well lived. I don’t know why, other than I took the message “this pain is not causing physical damage, as long as you don’t accommodate it” as the truth and made it my mantra. I can’t fight off the fatigue, the digestive problems or the sensation of pain that keeps me awake at night – but I can darn well snarl at my body’s fear of movement and say, “C’mon! Life’s not going to wait! Get moving and the reward will help you get over the entrapment of the pain!” For reference, my days are spent at level 3-5 with breathtaking peaks of 7 here and there, depending on the influences.
There have been really helpful therapies or medications available from time to time. However, for reasons God has not given me, (but I trust are very good for me) I haven’t been able to find something that makes it all go away. Opioids helped, but now I can’t get them. I only used 4 to 8 a year, but the epidemic is making all health care providers concerned and I’ve had to manage without them. I can live with that. The side effects were unpleasant enough that I didn’t use them often, anyway.
Lately, the brain fog is my biggest worry, since age has helped it smite me more than it did before. So, I’m still healthy and fighting my way through the haze that fibro tosses at me. And it’s ME – overcoming fibromyalgia adversity! Awesome!
Many of us have other obstacles to overcome, though. It’s not just physical health that smites us. I deal with clinical depression, and I have beloveds that fight with crushing anxiety, bipolar illness, and ADHD issues (thanking God for medications that really help!).
I have dear folks who have fought battles with cancer – and WON! I have others who have battles that are gaining them time to see milestones, though the cancer is still resident. They are still grateful to be alive and achieving their goals for those milestones.
There’s a lot to be said for tenacity. It often demands courage that nothing else will. Some folks think that high courage is the same as high strength, but that’s just not so. If you have someone you think of who seems very courageous – stop and say a prayer for them, or give them a call and ask how their strength is today. I bet they will be stunned that you called when their strength is at a desperate level. We help folks with flagging courage right away. But for some reason people with courage get waved at without any offers because we think they’re strong. Courage is not the same as strength, though. Be sure to help them grow their tenacity and strength by finding you near to lift them up, too.
My tenacity is held up by my faith in God, pretty much.
Where does YOUR tenacity grow?