Blessings = Responsibilities

What can I give back to God for the blessings he's poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God! I'll pray in the name of God; I'll complete what I promised God I'd do, & I'll do it together with his people....Oh, God, here I am, your servant, your faithful servant: set me free for your service! I'm ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice & pray in the name of God. I'll complete what I promised God I'd do.....Hallelujah! Psalm 116:12-19 (The Message)

The other day I was reviewing the blessings God gave me during the month of August. WOW! I'm so amazed with all the blessings that God continues to send my way.  The two highlights from August's blessings were my Joy-cation with very dear friends in Michigan, and the new car. Both of these blessings are multiplying blessings! Each day I'm grateful for the wonderful godly friends God has provided and the new car is not only fun to drive, but provides safe transportation. 

As I read Psalm 116, it made me once again realize that with blessings come responsibilities. I am to be praising God and sharing His love with each and every person with whom I have contact. God has used the new car to provide many opportunities to share about God's goodness. It's so much fun sharing what God did to make the new car purchase possible. I'm overwhelmed at His goodness to me. 

October is just around the corner, and I'm preparing for my yearly "Blessings Celebration". (Each year near the anniversary of my back injury, I take time to celebrate all the wonderful blessings God gave me during the year.) Not sure yet, what I'll do this year. It's always fun to see what God works out for the celebration. The past few years, the Celebrations have been filled with wonderful gifts from God. (If you look at the blog posts dated in October near the 25th you can read the previous years' celebrations.)

Some continue to wonder how I can celebrate and rejoice when I live with chronic pain. My response, "How can I not?" Pain is part of my life. It's always there. However, just because the pain is there, doesn't mean I have to allow it to totally rule my thoughts and emotions. Pain has too much control in my life as it is (preventing/limiting me from doing some things),—why would I want pain to have TOTAL control? 

In October 2000, God introduced pain into my life. And over the past 11 years, I've seen how God has used the pain to open doors for me to share His love with others. Pain has allowed me access to people whom I never would have had contact. Would I have chosen pain? No! However, I made a commitment to God in college—"I would be WHATEVER God wanted me to be, WHEREVER He wanted me to go." I realized that as a servant of God, I was to give my life to Him so that I could accomplish His will for my life. 

Just as it says in Psalm 116, I want to complete the promise I made to God and be His faithful servant. The past 11 years has been difficult as I've learned to live with chronic pain and adjust to a new way of life. But it's been filled with God's wonderful blessings! 

What can I give back to God for the blessings he's poured out on me? One thing which I can do is continue to praise God for His goodness and that is the key to creating a positive day.

Joy-cation!

The new catch-phrase heard often in Summer is “stay-cation”. Many people are changing their ideas of vacations due to finances. People are having fun doing simple activities all from their home. People are returning to the simple things in life. This got me thinking, if those people enjoying “stay-cations” can change their vacation plans—I can too! I’m calling mine a “joy-cation”.

What’s a “joy-cation”?

This Summer, I was able to take my first vacation since my back injury. As I was packing for the trip, there was one thing which I didn’t want to pack—my pain. If only I could turn off my pain for a week. That would be refreshing. However, rather than shutting off my pain for the week, I had to prepare for more pain. Every movement I make increases my pain. So, I knew that during my vacation my pain would increase.

Living with an invisible illness or chronic pain makes one change their lifestyle. There are activities which illness and/or pain prevent one from doing. I have worked hard making sure that my pain doesn’t prevent me from enjoying life on a daily basis.

So what if a vacation doesn’t include body surfing in the ocean, or attending sporting events, or concerts—that’s okay! I can enjoy a wonderful vacation with friends doing simple things, such as enjoying a lemon sorbet on a hot summer day. Or spending the evening watching a DVD enjoying popcorn and laughing with friends.

When living with an illness or pain, one must learn to rethink how to enjoy life and have fun. Don’t waste time grieving the past activities that can’t be done anymore. Rather, look for new activities which can be done!

My “joy-cation”

has been just that—a JOY!

Just because I live with chronic pain and headaches, doesn’t mean that I can’t have a wonderful time and break in my normal routine. I’d highly recommend that you begin planning your “joy-cation” ASAP!

Whether I'm on a "joy-cation" or just going through the normal routine at home—I'm learning that God provides joy and blessings each and every day. Noticing those blessings and relishing the joy, sure helps create a positive day!

For more on living with invisible illness and/or chronic pain visit www.invisibleillnessweek.com/.