Since getting back from holidays we’ve been dealing with nothing but sick kids and visits to the doctors. Both of my kids are trying to get over the latest round of sickness that’s going around. So far my wife and I have been able to escape getting sick.  With any luck it will stay this way because I usually end up catching everything in site. I’m going to be positive about this though and say it’s missed us. I so wish I was still in Hawaii! Oh well some pictures to remember the trip instead!

Ok! I’m now on day three of trying to get this post done but in between sick kids, trying to get a little rest, and the day to day routine there hasn’t been a lot of time. Mix in an increase in my pain and I’m having a fun old time!! Yesterday I was hoping that our oldest daughter was turning the corner with her bronchitis. This morning though she doesn’t seem to be doing as well so I’m not really sure what’s going on. It’s so hard to watch your little ones when they are sick because they truly don’t feel well. At the same time your begging for the whining to stop!! I love my kids but it’s time for all the sickness to end.

As the week went on and we dealt with our sick kids, my post started to unfold in front of me. It’s been a hard week I’mnot going to lie. It seems as though some of my symptoms have come rushing back.. As stress increases so do the symptoms. Things have been a little more stressful as of late because of all the sickness. It isn’t anything out of the normal but I started to look back at how quickly things shifted. After my vacation I was rested and my pain was doing ok. Within a matter of days after returning things were back to the way they were before I left. It was a pretty good indication that it doesn’t take very much stress to set things off. At the same time it can be frustrating to feel so good and then so bad.

The frustrating part of all this is that you get a tiny taste of the relaxed state with less pain and it of course leaves you wanting more. Just like that though you have the rug pulled from under you, and it’s back to trying to manage the pain. Often it’s at these times that memories come flooding back. You start to remember the times that you didn’t have to deal with all this, and wish that things were different. It isn’t that I can’t cope with it, but it sure is easy for a person to slide down a slippery slope and become discouraged. This happens to me all the time. I’d be lying if I said that this wasn’t an area that I need to improve on. It’s during these swings in your emotions that you have to stay strong and remain positive.  This is one area where God can be a huge help to you. I know He is for me!  When this happens I stop and say a prayer asking God for encouragement, strength, and understanding.

This week when things changed the way they did, it wasn’t as difficult for me to understand why it was happening. At the same time I was more accepting of things being the way they are, and that I just have to keep fighting. As I take on this attitude, then I start dealing with those emotions that might want to come up and rear their ugly head. You don’t let them effect you in the same way, and stop you from moving forward. Nobody is saying that this is easy to do because it’s taken me six years to get to this point, and I still have trouble understanding at times. So to not get emotional and to identify and understand why my pain changed so quickly is a positive change.   

It might have been a tough week for me but I’m encouraged that God is working within me to heal me. There has been encouragement by family and friends this week. As well I have been given strength to get through all this illness in my family, and to keep moving forward. Then as well I have also been able to understand why the things happened the way they did while not allowing my emotions to overcome me. Sounds like an answer to prayer to me!