What doesn't kill you, does it really make you stronger?

Someone once told me "The ones who will hurt you the most is family". I never wanted to find truth in those words. I lived in denial. Truth is, that statement is very true and very real. The bad part, living with an autoimmune disease doesn't exactly allow you to have lots of stress in your life. You see stress is the number one trigger for flares. So, what is the solution for this very real problem if family is supposed to be your safe haven? I've yet to find the solution. Maybe happiness within yourself is the most important. 

Feeling pretty special

Life...trying to maintain the new normal is always the challenge. You find yourself forcing tasks and pushing your body to new limits. But at what cost? Secretly you know that you will pay for those extra spoons that you used today, tomorrow.  And just like the domino train, once the first domino falls, it starts the never ending cycle. So you just keep pushing until you can no longer stand it. But, the beauty in the pain is that it is not eternal as long as we have Jesus in our lives. You see when I think about his wounds, they were so much more than mine. His suffering was for me. And that feels pretty special. 

Pin cushions, walking canes, and the ruby slippers

Anyone who has an autoimmune disease has certainly felt like a human pin cushion at one point during their journey. You try to convince yourself that the injections help, but at what cost? Hair loss, swollen joints, backpacks filled with an assortment of braces just to go to the grocery store, and an emergency walking cane in the trunk. Yeah, life gets pretty real....real quick. But the worst part of it all is, needing help to do the most simplest of tasks, with no one around to help. Maybe one day the storm called life will one day land me in my own fairytale land. And just like Dorothy I too will earn my own ruby slippers.