I'm Not Hoping that 2019 Will Be "Easier"

It recently occurred to me that I've been fooling myself.  I've faithfully proclaimed on social media year after year since I was diagnosed my deep hope that the next year will be easier, or that it will be better than the year before.  I've hoped, and prayed, and fought my way into society's view of a "better" and "easier" life, only to find that this "easier" life that I'm seeking for doesn't exist.  There's no such thing as "easy" in the vocabulary of a chronic illness fighter, and it turns out that the moment you think that the chronic illness battle has become "better" or "easier," something else painful and heartbreaking will come along that will try your resilience and test your nerves.  And then after you've made it through that trauma, your illness will flare again.  Due to this eternal pattern that keeps kicking me, I have finally reached the point in my life where I can say that I am no longer hoping, wishing, or praying for an easier year ahead!

Sounds like I've reached the point of intense embitterment, but I wouldn't exactly call it that.  In fact, I've finally discovered that this statement that I'm making isn't a negative or chaining statement at all.  In fact, admitting to it is probably one of the most freeing experiences I've ever had!

For as long as I can remember, my family's motto has always been "we do hard things."  I was taught growing up that working hard and doing things that appeared to be difficult would bless my life and create a stronger person inside me.  I was taught that striving to achieve things that were seemingly out of my reach was healthy and something that should be practiced on a regular basis.  Back then it never occurred to me that there was something harder out there than Saturday morning chores, striving for a 4.0 GPA, and losing a best friend.  Hard things came and went when I was young, but eventually, there will come a time in all of our lives when those hard things won't just leave.  There will come a time when those hard things stick around, and you'll find yourself on your knees begging for relief more than once.

I've been in that place for years now, and I think I'm finally beginning to understand and live the truth that adversity and affliction has a divine purpose.  Things may not get easier in the moment, but that's okay.  Because God promises us better things through our suffering and God sustains us every step of the way.  It's through the hard things that I've developed sensitivity to God's precious mentoring that He blesses my life with.

C.S. Lewis says that "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."  I think my world has been roused and it's been a loud and painful awakening, but completely worth it.  Many of us have probably experienced that this year, and what a blessing to say that we've learned this lesson firsthand. 

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I'm not going to begin to pretend like I have life all figured out.  In fact, I often find myself in prayer expressing how unsure I am about life.  But there is one thing that I do know:

Sometimes life is absolutely awful.  Sometimes it's blood, sweat, and tears to make it through the day.  And sometimes it seems absolutely unbearable.  Other times life is magical, joyous, romantic, and absolutely beautiful to the point where you can't seem to breathe in enough of the moment, and you wonder what you could have possibly done to be blessed with such a perfect moment in life.  And other times life is somewhere in between... mundane and boring.  And the reality is that in order to live life to the FULLEST, every single one of these experiences is absolutely necessary.  Because without the pain we wouldn't appreciate the joy.  And without the mundane, we wouldn't appreciate the magic.  And the glorious truth is that we have a loving God who sustains us through it all.  How loving and merciful He is to enable me to do the hard things, even if they seem to be never-ending.

So this year I'm not praying or hoping for things to be easier.  I'm hoping and praying for the strength to endure the hard, the wisdom to appreciate the magic, the patience to remain hopeful through the mundane, and the courage to submit to God's will even if it's more difficult than past years.  May we all have the ability to discover those places of balance and vitality in the year to come.​