Category: Lessons from Pain

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Do you hurt when you travel? I have an idea!

I’m taking a break from the monthly video series to bring you this Fibro Travel Tip.  You see, over the Christmas holiday, I had to travel to my Sister-in-Law’s house to visit my Mother-in-Law who is 93.  She used to travel to us, but she can no longer handle the plane trip and being in a home that isn’t suited to an elderly woman who needs help with showers and such.

While it was a lovely time being with my husband’s family and getting caught up with their lives, it took quite a toll on my body.  Here’s why:

To get to the airport, I first had to travel a half hour by car with a stiff ride on Indiapotholedled streets.  Next, I had to wait in line to drop off the baggage and then in the TSA line. The plane seemed exceptionally tight, even to my husband and son. I’m only 5′ tall and it was so cramped on the plane that even I couldn’t cross my legs!

After the 5-hour plane flight, unable to change positions, I found myself just about crying almost to the point of being sick from the pain.  Head in hand, I tried, unsuccessfully, to alleviate my neck pain which had traveled into my arm, back, jaw, and my left eye.

Arriving at the San Fransisco airport meant that I had to walk all over the airport. First was a stop to retrieve our luggage. Next, we had to take an elevator up, then walk a bit, then an elevator down, then walk some more, then take an airbus on a rail to another part of the airport where we could get to the rental car area.  I think we took all possible modes of transportation that day except a boat!

After getting the rental, we still had to travel three hours plus by car to get to Sacramento where my in-laws live.  So, by that time the only part of my body that didn’t ache was my left pinky toe!

On the trip back, I had a bizarre encounter with the SF TSA.  You can read that hilarious story by clicking here.  Just before getting on the plane, my back was killing me so I took some ibuprofen.  And just like that, I wasn’t in nearly the pain I had been on the trip out!

I will NEVER again fly without first taking some ibuprofen!  Even if I still have more pain, at least it will be MUCH less! In fact, I’m going to be doing this even on our 1.5-hour car rides to and from my son’s college.

If you think this might work for you, I’m glad to have been of service!

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Two Things We All Need When in Struggle

There are two very important things we all need when we are in crisis.  They are vital, but they are not at all common.  These two things are needed even more so when in trial and God says no. Those two things are prayer and practical advice.

When we struggle, when we are in trial, when life seems bleak and we are not sure how we are going to handle something that has been dropped in our lap or slapped across our face (as it sometimes feels), the first thing we need is prayer.  We need to petition the Father for comfort, for strength, and for help.  That prayer usually comes from us…the person(s) in need of the help.  But when that prayer comes from a friend or group of friends, it means so much more.

Prayer is a powerful thing. And corporate prayer is even more powerful. It’s what helped me give birth to my son through a series of miracles that ended with an incredibly healthy kid who rarely gets a cold.  It’s what helped my doctors find pre-cancer cells they never would have found until it was too late as most women with Fallopian tube cancer have experienced before their untimely death. It’s what delivered my daughter from heart issues to be healed inside of a month where the doctors expected either a death sentence (if she were born with it) or years of recuperation at best if it were the result of a virus…NOT ONE MONTH!

Praying for someone is amazing, but praying WITH someone can lift someone’s spirits and ease their burden so much in that few minutes it takes to come together in prayer.  Just knowing someone is willing not only to say they’ll pray, and pray in private, but to pray in their presence is an amazing boost to a weary soul.

Prayer is amazing, but often God uses prayers to bring about the practical things that are needed for His struggling children THROUGH the actions of others.  If someone is in need of $100 to be able to meet his rent and someone offers him that $100 as a gift or even as a  loan, that is an answered prayer.  If you can be the answer to prayer for someone, that is truly an amazing feeling.  And it doesn’t always take money.  Sometimes it can take the form of a meal, a shoulder to cry on, a phone call to a friend who may have a job opening, a gift of time or service, or a discount on a product or service desperately needed.

James 2:15-16 says, “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” 

Who can you pray for today? Who can you pray WITH today?  How can you be an answered prayer for someone you know who is hurting today?