The first year enduring and battling a serious illness can test everything we thought we knew about coping with the trials of life. In this book, I share some of the more meaningful and encouraging moments of my journey as I sought to draw strength from outside of myself to endure them. My hope is that you or your loved one will find strength and hope that transcends the often difficult day-to-day experience for yourself or a loved one coping with a debilitating illness. I also hope that you will consider the hope found in a personal relationship with God. His presence in One’s life can make a difference in where a person lands when this particular journey of life is over. Will we have peace or will we have despair?
With a sincere heart it is my privilege to share these short vignettes with you. Let not these trials of ours be wasted, eh? Gentle Reader, are you ready for enduring hope that goes beyond what we can see? If your answer is, “Yes,” then I invite you to read, Hope Beyond Lyme: The First Year. May it also encourage you to learn that you are not alone, not today, not ever.
Discover from a fellow sojourner, her most meaningful and encouraging moments to encourage you or your loved one battling a serious illness. Find in one handy eBook (available in 9 different formats) the best blogs updated from this site plus several Bonus Pages too! Click on the link below for more information. Take care, :J
I was reminded listening to the words of a friend the other day that not everyone believes that there is both a heaven and a hell. Funny how choosing to believe something doesn’t exist, does not mean that it in fact does not exist! If the source for ultimate truth is the Bible, the very representation of God Himself, then this is the place for us to turn on such matters. Since I am not a Bible scholar, I will enlist the help of Hank Haanagraf from the Christian Research Institute to shed a little light on the subject:
First, Christ, the Creator of the cosmos, clearly communicated hell’s irrevocable reality. In fact, He spent more time talking about hell than He did about heaven. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7), He explicitly warned His followers more than a half-dozen times about the dangers that lead to hell. In the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24–25), He repeatedly told His followers of the judgment to come. In His famous story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16), He graphically portrayed the finality of eternal torment in hell.
Furthermore, the concept of choice demands that we believe in hell. Without hell, there is no choice. Without choice, heaven would not be heaven; heaven would be hell. The righteous would inherit a counterfeit heaven, and the unrighteous would be incarcerated in heaven against their wills, which would be a torture worse than hell. Imagine spending a lifetime voluntarily distanced from God only to find yourself involuntarily dragged into His loving presence for all eternity. The alternative to hell would be worse than hell itself in that humans made in the image of God would be stripped of freedom and forced to worship God against their will.
Finally, common sense regarding justice dictates that there must be a hell. Without hell, the wrongs of Hitler’s Holocaust would never be righted. Justice would be impugned if, after slaughtering six million Jews, Hitler merely died in the arms of his mistress with no eternal consequences. The ancients knew better than to think such a thing. [“Ask Hank” column of the Christian Research Journal, volume 27, number 1 (2004)]
We read that in hell there will be darkness, eternal separation from God, unquenchable fire, weeping and gnashing of teeth. For all of eternity, a person will never be able to get comfortable or find relief. Wow. All this for turning one’s back on the God of the universe who created each one of us, loves us unconditionally, promises to never leave us or forsake us . . . if we but repent and believe in Him. A reasonable choice I would say given the rewards, given the consequences for not doing so! I opt for the eternal party in heaven with streets of gold and the mansion with many rooms He is now preparing for His own. I trust that many Gentle Readers of this blog have made the same decision for Christ as Lord and Savior.
In the meantime, believers and non-believers alike must live in a fallen world where Satan rules, not God. What? Surely God is here, dwells in the hearts of those who love Him, reveals Himself through the wonder of nature and the blessings He bestows upon us, right? Yes He does. He will not rule, however, until He comes again in glory at His second coming. Until then, we must face the consequences of sin and everything short of the Garden of Eden. At times and increasingly in the world in which we live, we see evil and darkness. Increasingly we see and experience what we might call “hell on earth.” Perhaps you have tasted this yourself. I know I have many times . . . my personal hell plays out every day as I battle a serious illness. Wretched, man.
If you want to make sure you don’t end up in hell, well then I invite you to get connected to the Lord, Jesus Christ personally. While there are no guarantees that you will not suffer in this life, you are guaranteed that you will live gloriously in heaven with your Heavenly Father and believers who have gone before you . . . FOREVER. Now that’s a guarantee that pulls me through any glimpse of hell on earth these days.
All of this is good to reflect on and get straight right before Christmas. After all, the holiday traditions will fade. Christmas presents will break down someday and the fruitcake will live on beyond most of us in a garbage dump somewhere! But even fruitcake will turn to dust eventually. And when it does I know where I will be. I will no longer have seizures, chronic illness, and chronic pain. Everything will be perfect. (Happy sigh.)
I hit another wall today: one that reminded me of my inability to control or think my way out of pretty much anything. Have you been there?
Amassed in noxious symptoms after finally venturing out of the house on my own today, I had thought things were going pretty well earlier. I was becoming sicker so I came home to unpack my stuff from some errands and rest a while before making dinner. Losing the next 3 hours in bed after coming home was not what I expected. After all, I am getting better right? Well I’m not sure just yet.
Sometimes a person just has to stay focused on a moment as small as one breath in time. At least I could breathe this time when the “non-epileptic seizures” hit. Gratefully I had my phone with me and the app for Harvest Fellowship messages would fill my mind with the Word of God. When there was a break in the action I could get it going, listen, and maybe relax. The darkness of my spirit lifted somewhat as Pastor Paul Mowery began to speak. I missed my husband who was away at the midweek church service. To text him to please come home did cross my mind. But then I realized that the One I really needed was already here . . .
I cried out to the Lord and He met me there in that dark bedroom refuge. Our pastor’s words from the Book of John about abiding in the love of Jesus Christ filled me like a cup of warm cocoa running through my veins. Then when the recorded message began with a recounting of the disciples “visibly shaking” as Jesus teaches of His upcoming death, resurrection, and perfect peace I lost it. The seizure-like attacks had already been in a continuous pattern of havoc for over 30 minutes. “Visibly shaking?” Yeah. I get it. Only I am not only afraid. I am sad. I am grieving the loss of so much with this illness. I am broken.
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14)
Yesterday I said to a friend on Facebook that the shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” The God of the universe was displaying His human compassion for the death of a friend and for the terrible wretchedness that we must endure in our earthly lives. I shared this to encourage her that the Lord sees her pain over the death of friends or their loved ones recently. This verse speaks to me today too. My Lord sees my suffering, so much loss (i.e. time, money, fellowship, activities, health, fitness, and intimacy with my husband), heartache, and weakness. He grieves yet He knows my heart and loves me more than I can ever know. He is not the God of this world so there will be pain and suffering in this world. No one escapes these. Jesus Himself will come again in glory and gather those who know Him to be with Him through all of eternity. When I die I will see Him and be in His glorious presence forever. And while I am still here, I know that He will use all of this for my good and His glory too:
And we know that in allthings God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8)
Right now I don’t feel as bad as I did earlier this evening. It’s very early in the morning and I feel like some things got worked out this evening. It’s as if my Lord and King has me cradled gently in the shadow of His wings and that’s a great place to be for restful sleep. All of the other things that I write about in this blog (my eBook, online jewelry) should never take the focus off of what and Who is most important in my life. Jesus rocks!
Very simply I’ll close with this: I love you Lord Jesus Christ and I want everyone who reads this to know you too. After all, when I do take my last breath it will be all that I have left. Gentle Reader: how about you? JJ
This past year proved to be another wild ride at our home, filled with adventures both good and, well, the other one!
Steve discontinued his Winter Shooting League commitments to be home with his beloved wife early in the New Year. Two Fort Wayne event planning committees benefitted from Steve’s expertise running canoe and kayak racing competitions, held this summer. His kayak racing (K-1 Unlimited) went well again for his fifth year racing in the U. S. Canoe Association circuit here in northern Indiana. Participation in the USCA national meeting as a delegate and a respectable finish in the USCA Nationals were additional highlights this past year. And while threats of layoffs continued at Exelis (formerly ITT), the Lord preserved Steve’s work again; it appears that the engineering contracts will continue for the next three years. Yes!
Steve’s leadership and dedication to the Lord played out in continued work on the Missions Board at Harvest Fellowship in addition to weekly Bible and worship services. I appreciated the weekly gift of a CD of the pastor’s message as my worship became more homebound due to the older conditions of our church building. While I dreadfully missed the fellowship of our church home, I am grateful for the uplifting Bible teaching and first-hand account of all-things-Harvest when Steve came home with his play-by-play Sunday updates!
The biggest adventure of the year was the remediation of our home for mold between January and March. We had just returned from seeing family and friends in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina in January when it became clear that there were mold spores throughout the house that were causing significant compromises of Julie’s health. After extensive testing and prayer, we discovered that mold had developed in the air return area underneath a bathroom cabinet. Julie stayed in a hotel for 76 days, most of them with our dog Elle while Steve ran back and forth between home/hotel/work. Steve’s daughter, Christina, was finishing a furlough with us before returning to Thailand this Spring. I thanked her for coordinating some of the clean-up efforts and navigating the flooring replacement project that included the entire house. To say it was a major undertaking for all of us would be putting it lightly! We are grateful for the Lord’s provision and guidance . . . and to be back home! We are home except for Christina that is: she is pursuing her work in linguistics and as an Intern Coordinator in Thailand.
Quick update: Patrick and Kate celebrated Jackson Rees’ first birthday this past September at their home in North Carolina. We unfortunately were unable to attend due to my illness but wait with great expectation for their return visit to Fort Wayne this Christmas. Rebekah is now finishing her first semester at Vanderbilt University in Nashville; international education will be the focus of her Master’s degree. And Daniel continues to thrive as a Corporal in the Marines, based down the coast from Patrick in North Carolina. We are delighted to host him and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Posey, for some Christmas celebrations here real soon.
And for me, well check my blah, blah, blog for the hairy details! (www.justjuliewrites.com) I continue to battle the complications of a serious illness. Recent new treatments are providing promising results and I must say that we see the hand of God guiding me and Steve through this often difficult journey – with some moments of sweet tenderness that probably could not have come any other way. I am also grateful for two projects: my online jewelry business (www.trinityjewelrybydesign.com) & eBook (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/371334) that have kept me sane when tempted to feel discouraged. There is hope and I see it every day in the face of my Jesus and heart of my beloved Steve.
So we hope that you will be encouraged this Christmas: the Creator King is on the throne and is ready for us to celebrate His birth in just a few days. The love and hope of Jesus Christ makes the difference to hearts and minds surrendered to His care. He does it for us. How about you?
Know someone battling a serious illness and want to give them a meaningful and encouraging gift this Christmas? Give the gift of compassion and a copy of
Hope Beyond Lyme: The First Year
Now available from Smashwords.com and Amazon.com!
Now it’s available in 9 different formats so you don’t even need an eReading device to download your copy for just $2.99! To learn more go to: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/371334 and be sure to click the “Give as a gift” link from any book page. Smashwords will email it to your loved one immediately upon purchase. If you would like it to be a surprise instead be sure to put your own email address where indicated, print it out when the order is complete and hand it to the person, well personally!
Discover from a fellow sojourner, my most meaningful and encouraging moments to share vignettes of understanding with your loved one battling a serious illness. There is hope and with faith in God, we will find the true meaning and source of that hope.
Thank you, Gentle Reader, for helping to make this project possible! Just Julie
Jesus is for the Wounded 
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