Look on the Bright Side
So… three and a half years of migraines and you still wrote a bestseller?
That was the subject line of an email I received last month. At first, I laughed a little. Because it’s true; I wrote my book Clinging to Jesus: Praying and Meditating on God’s Word When You’re in Pain after struggling with chronic pain for over three years. However, after I laughed at the memory, I felt a little guilty.
Looking back, those first three years with chronic, daily migraines were like a walk in the park. Don’t get me wrong; my head hurt. It wasn’t abnormal for the doctor to ask me to rate my pain on a scale of 1-10 and I would answer with 12. It was unimaginably painful. But despite the pain, I was in a good place spiritually; mainly because of the tips I shared in Clinging to Jesus. That’s why I wrote it.
That said, it’s been over eight years now, and while I’ve built up a bit of pain tolerance (I usually rate my pain between six and eight now), my spirit has been beaten down. It’s discouraging to have a migraine every single day. And it’s made immeasurably worse when they find a treatment that helps for a few days or weeks, only to have my migraine come back full force once I’ve dropped my guard.
Proverbs 13:12 tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick—and that’s where I’m at. I’m afraid to hope. Which has me thinking about all the good things that have come about over the past eight years, either despite my migraines or even perhaps because of them.
It’s really easy to focus on all the things I miss out on. Or look at all the things I simply cannot do. From simple household chores to showing up as a wife and mom when my family needs me, it’s easy to get depressed. But Paul wrote to the Philippians that they should think about stuff that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and worthy of praise (4:8). While it’s true I can’t do all the things, it’s also true that—even when my head hurts—God has blessed me beyond measure.
And I’m certain the same is true for you. Thus, I am sharing some of the hidden blessings and silver linings I’ve noticed over the years. Hopefully, as you read about all the amazing things God has done for me, you’ll start to see just how good He has been to you, too.
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Recommended Resource
Clinging to Jesus
Whether it’s your head, your back, your joints, or something else, when we feel miserable, we can let that awful feeling consume us. But God doesn’t give us more than we can handle with Him in our hearts.
