“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,... - romans8-28.over-blog.com

March 1, 2019

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

I’m going to take a few minutes this morning to post this update on my health, since that was why I started this blog in the first place!!

I’ve been on the rotating regimen of meds, two weeks Augmentin and two weeks of the Ciproflaxin and Flagyl, every since I went to the Gastroenterologist, Dr. Knopp, in Lexington. I’ve also been taking the Plaquinil, as prescribed by my Rheumatologist, Dr. Sizemore. I’ve done really well, so far, and what few times I’ve been sick, have been manageable.

Test results from my visits to both doctors were hopeful. Nothing stood out as being worthy of concern so that’s good! I go back to both doctors on November 9 and will have to undergo some heart and lung function testing at UK hospital. This is normal and necessary for anyone with Scleraderma.

As far as the Scleraderma symptoms, I have to say the extreme itching I was dealing with in my upper torso have subsided, but not totally. The Raynauds is still pretty rough. I found a website (http://www.firheals.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=52) that advertised gloves that were specifically made for people with Raynauds and would help keep my hands from getting so very cold and painful. So I ordered them. Forty-something dollars for a pair of gloves!! I know... 😮...OUTRAGEOUS! But if they would help, it would be money very well spent! So, with hope in my heart and trying to keep a positive attitude, I anxiously awaited my gloves. And they finally came! The next day, we went to Walmart... the place where my hands get SO cold and hurt so bad that I can barely touch ANYTHING. I put the gloves on just about as soon as we went in, well before my hands got cold. Well, it wasn’t too long before I began to notice my hands getting cold. ☹️ Yep, they got almost as bad as they always did. I was not only disappointed, I was heartbroken! I felt cheated and victimized by the company I had purchased the gloves from. But I didn’t send them back. I did send them an email telling them that their gloves didn’t do much of anything for me that regular plain old Walmart gloves do. I asked them if I needed to do something to maybe “activate” them so that they would work!! As of today, I haven’t heard a word back from them. 😩 I wear the gloves despite my dissatisfaction and disappointment in them. I guess I just don’t want to FEEL as if I totally threw away $43 dollars!!

My other symptoms are the joint pain and stiffness and that hasn’t changed. I still walk and feel very stiff and certain activities are very difficult for me. Climbing stairs, bending down or reaching up, sometimes even walking and especially running are things that are challenging! Certain things that must be done to get dressed are a chore! Putting my socks and shoes on, pulling a shirt off or on, pulling pants off and on (especially the ones I usually wear which are skinny jeans, leggings or jeggings!!) are a huge challenge sometimes and I’ve learned some tricks and shortcuts that, if anyone saw me, they’d get a laugh for sure! 😂

One other symptom that causes me a lot of misery is how the disease has affected my mouth. Not only has my facial skin tightening caused my mouth opening to be extremely small, the disease has also caused the inside of my mouth to be really sensitive and painful. It’s like I’ve taken a REALLY hot drink of something and burnt my tongue and even the inside of my cheeks... and it never goes away. So I have to either endure the pain of eating certain foods or avoid them altogether. Sometimes it’s ANY food or drink. Other times it’s things like ketchup or sauces or crunchy things like chips. I’ve had to stop eating chips altogether. Sometime I can’t eat even eat fries.😩 So my diet is a bit complicated and since I’m trying very hard to put some weight back on... it’s not easy! I have to really think about the consequences of food now!!

Another issue I’ve had to deal with is the fact that my digestive system responds to external things that used to not affect me. The main thing is that when I go through the least bit of stress... usually worry or concern about someone or something beyond my help or control... I end up really sick and not able to do what I want or need to do for a day or two. And no matter how much I want or pray or wish I could be “stronger” and not let stress/worry affect me, it still does! And I feel like I’m showing lack of faith in God to take care of the problems or worries, but it hits me anyway! I get very mad at myself and disappointed in what I consider weakness. I try so hard to pray about the problem or the concern and place it in God’s care and leave it with Him, but it still twists my gut like a dishrag and causes me to be SO sick!

Goodness, all this sounds pretty depressing! But I’m NOT depressed, really. Oh, I have my moments of discouragement and doubt, but God always brings me through it and I find joy again.

I am doing a personal bible study on the fruits of the spirit as found in Galatians 5: 22 and 23. This morning, my focus was on the fruit of the Spirit, JOY and I was so blessed by the scriptures I found on JOY! I especially love this verse that says, “May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 | GNT. Notice all those key words... Hope, JOY, peace, faith! I realize that despite outward circumstances, poor health, finances...whatever... that it’s SO important to allow God to help me display the fruit of JOY so that others will see Him in me.

It’s a sad and scary world we live in and sometimes my smile...my words of LOVE, (the fruit of the Spirit I focused on yesterday), my encouragement, my displays of my faith in God ... these may be the reason for another person to make it through their bad day or sad time. How can I be anything less than what God has created me to be? Yes, there are days when I ask Him, “God, why am I even here? I feel I have no purpose whatsoever.” And then there are the really “feeling-sorry-for-myself” days when I feel like an old, forgotten and worn out shoe that’s been tossed aside and forgotten!! But then God sends me a reason to feel loved and needed. Sometimes it’s a very small reason, but it’s A reason, nonetheless and I find the will and the strength and the faith I need to keep smiling and know that God is STILL in control of my life and I am just as special to Him as Billy Graham!

May YOU find joy ... May you create joy... may you cause joy...,may you be filled to overflowing with joy TODAY and every day!

Love ya!