I got the second dose of a vaccine for shingles. I have been feeling sick ever since. My body aches, I have a headache, and I feel really tired. Throughout this day, I kept feeling like I just didn’t want to do anything at all. From the moment, I woke up, I just felt horrible.
Here’s where faith is important in my life. I realized that the way I felt had everything to do with the vaccine and that it was only temporary. I knew that if I got up and moved around, taking breaks, I would feel better than if I just stayed in bed all day not moving at all. I forced myself to get up and move even though I didn’t want to all because I had faith that in the end, I would feel better for it.
I can’t help but think about what it was like when I was younger. I was having panic attacks and feeling lost. I didn’t think anyone understood or cared what I was going through. I thought most everyone else was able to deal with life better than I could. When those difficult times came up, I fell apart or melted down. I didn’t know how I was going to get through it.
These days I still have the same problems; I just have a different perspective. I know that I can’t compare my life to anyone else’s life. I know that whatever I am or am not is all part of God’s plan for me. When those difficult times comes, I know that they are temporary. I put my faith in God, and I know that He will help me to weather the difficult time and see it through to the other side. More importantly, in my case, it happens all the time, that I need to have faith when it comes to my body. Suffering from chronic pain means forcing myself to get up and move when I am tired and in pain. It means knowing that movement is going to help and pain meds aren’t. It also means that most doctors aren’t going to understand. When someone feels bad, they normally take it easy and rest, but I believe when I need to that I can let illness and other maladies take control of my life. After all, God is the only one who had power in my life.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
