June 2019 – Healing with Harotian

June 18, 2019June 17, 2019

Blogging with a Chronic Illness

So, when you live with an illness that affects how you process information, it is very difficult to successfully run a blog. It has been for me, anyway.

So, I want to share with you ways I manage a blog while living with Lupus. Please read here if you haven’t already about my fight against Lupus. Right now, I don’t talk about as much because the Plaquenil prescribed by my rheumatologist, has finally kicked in and my blood work is coming back normal. Which is AWESOME-SAUCE! I am definitely in a better place than I was a year ago. I digress.

So, oh yeah…Tips on how to run a blog while living with a chronic illness.

Set small goals: As you know, when living with a chronic illness, your days can be unpredictable. I know for Lupus warriors, one day we are feeling great and the next day it’ll feel like we’ve been hit by a bus. So, don’t overwhelm yourself with too much at once. Set your own pace. The rest will follow.
It’s ok to take a break: Blogging can be emotionally and physically draining for anyone, especially if you have a chronic illness. For me, pain is an issue. I manage it, but I can’t sit one position for too long before my body begins to stiffen up. If you have a schedule for blogging, set aside times for breaks. Blogging can be exhausting, so make sure you take care of yourself.
Water, Water, and what…More Water!: I know you’re tired of hearing this. I’m tired of hearing it, but it true. Water is known to improve your cognition, improve your mood, and lower inflammation. Which means, the more water you drink, the better you will feel.
Cut yourself some slack: I know that we have goals that we want to accomplish, but remember, it even took the Lord six days to make the universe, and He is a perfect supreme being. Accomplishing anything will take time and continuous effort. I have to remind myself of this daily, especially when I see other people who have blogs that are thriving and mines is…..

Having a chronic illness can definitely put a wrench in the plans, but it doesn’t have to damage our plans completely. Even if it isn’t blogging. Keep going, keep pushing, keep moving. Even if it’s one step forward, three steps back, you are still making progress.

I’ll be praying for your strength while chasing what you love. Thank for you reading words today. God bless each and every one of you. Please remember to pray for one another.

On the darkest days you have to search for a spot of brightness, on the coldest days you have to seek out a spot of warmth; on the bleakest days you have to keep your eyes onward and upward and on the saddest days you have to leave them open to let them cry. To then let them dry. To give them a chance to wash out the pain in order to see fresh and clear once again. -Tahereh Mafi

June 13, 2019June 12, 2019

Hope Is…

Good Day Friends,

Hope. By definition, dictionary.com defines hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen, a feeling of trust, want something to happen or be the case”. Having hope can give us fuel to accomplish more than we have ever imagined for ourselves. Hope can make or break our dreams, our realities, and our faith. Hope can be dangerous but in a good way.

Lately, I’ve been lacking hope. At least I thought I have. Hope that I will get through the circumstances that I am faced with every day. During this season in my life, I’ve found that hopelessness is more dangerous than hope itself because hopelessness brings a wide range of other emotions that could possibly burn me to the ground; fear, turmoil, chaos, envy, disappointment, bitterness, etc.

Hopelessness is dark and confusing. It’s tricky and manipulative. Hopelessness will have you thinking lies about yourself and God. But God, more than anything would like for us to have hope. He knows how important it is because He knows that we have doubts. He knows that we are confused creatures. He’s not surprised when we question Him about the decisions He makes or the things that He allows to happen. Yet, our Father doesn’t want us to lose hope.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. -Hebrews 11:1

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13

Why does God want us to have hope?

Hope is:

Living a life beyond our pain
Looking to God with expectation for the good He wants us to have in our lives. He genuinely cares.
Trusting that God has good things in store for us
Having confidence in His abilities to make all things work out for good

When we fall into hope, we fall into the arms of our loving Father. A Father who always catches us with the infinite promise that He will carry us from our disappointments, pain, and disparity into a new life with Him and Jesus Christ.

Once we do that, we will find ourselves experiencing new ventures and opportunities that get us beyond hopelessness. A place of freedom that we can only experience when God carries and catches us.

So today, moment by moment, have hope. Even if it’s small, you’re still giving God something to work with.

Thank you for reading my thoughts today. I pray that you are finding God’s hope for you. Also, please remember to pray for one another. We all need hope right now.

June 8, 2019

Life Still Happens

Hello Dear Friends,

It’s been a minute, eh? Well, over a month to be exact. My issue started in the middle of April when I began to experience a Lupus flare. If you are new to my blog, please read click here to see what it’s like to have Lupus. The emotional rollercoaster you experience during and after a flare, to me, is the worst part. At any moment, your mind becomes vulnerable to attacks that you thought you have overcome. Staying strong becomes more difficult by the day, by the hour, by the minute, by the second. Until, finally, you’re sulking in days old dirt because you don’t have the energy to shower.

Your mind begins to play on tricks on you. You begin to wonder what’s the point of fighting if this is going to be your life every few months. Then you begin thinking about the fight, what it entails. The reaching, the clawing, the crying out for help, for redemption, for air, for anything besides physical and mental anguish.

You pick up the phone for support, but then you think, people are tired of hearing the same cries from you…”I’m in pain. I need help. Please pray for me.” Day after day you begin to sink lower and lower into the abyss of self-pity and hopelessness. You cry out asking, God why aren’t you here with me. You softly here Him say, “I AM here with you. I love you, I adore you, I miss you.” But you don’t believe Him because you feel alone, you feel the pain, you want to feel nothing.

Your children look at you with pain in their eyes, trying to figure out when things will go back to normal. Your spouse becomes overwhelmed with work and housework since you are unable to lift a finger. You lay in bed, staring at the ceiling begging God to just end it already. You aren’t made for this life. You aren’t “it”. You wait for the day to magically feel better, but that day never comes.

There are so many things you want to do, but your body and mind won’t let you do it. So you find yourself at step one; growing closer to Christ because he has saved you in the past and he will save you again. But even praying has become a chore. So you pick up your bible, you say the words, hoping, believing that God has sent his Angel warriors to fight whatever is holding you down, even if it’s yourself.

This is it. This is life. This is the fight. Minus all of the outside drama and responsibilties that has to be done because life doesn’t care if you’re sick. Life doesn’t care if you are experiencing mental anguish. Life still happens.