I'm Thankful for my Health Problems

Yes, that's what I said, I really am grateful for my health problems.That doesn't mean that I'm crazy, or that I really don't have any serious problems with my health. Actually, I have several spinal injuries, insulin resistance,  problems with my adrenal glands, and major allergies and chemical sensitivities. 

How can I say that I'm thankful for all these problems? Well, it's not that I enjoy suffering, and I certainly don't enjoy all the limitations, but I can appreciate the opportunities having poor health has given me.

Not having the health to do all the endless multitude of tasks which I think I should be doing, has blessed my life. It has helped me focus on what is really most important to me, such as my family and my relationship with God. Also, my health problems have directed me down a different path than what I would have taken if I had had good health.

When I have been prevented from doing all the endless projects and multiplicity of details which fill my "normal" day, I find myself again. On days like today when I can barely move, I rediscover my creativity which had become buried under my massive "to do" lists. 

So, am I grateful that I can't do things? That's not really it. What I am grateful for is how the Lord has shaped my life by allowing me to have poor health so that I could be directed to develop and share my strengths. I've come to realize that my strengths come from a creative mind, not an active body. There is no greater gift you can give a creative person than to give them the quiet time they need to create. 

Every time I have some energy, I just keep going doing tasks and organizing things. After several weeks of rushing around like that, I "crash". This is where I am now. At these times when my normal activity has been halted, I look around me and wonder what I am doing on the ground pathetically waddling around. In the stillness, I remember that as a creative person, I am meant to soar in the sky seeing majestic vistas and noticing the patterns around me. I have not the strength for hauling, but instead have been given the gift of sight to share with others.

Yes, I am grateful for my poor health, not for the pain and limitations, but  because it reminds me that I have wings to fly. It provides me with the stillness needed to share my insights with those around me. It focuses me and encourages me to be who I really am. 

I painted this watercolor of a cactus flower. From the harsh conditions of the desert, exquisite beauty blossoms.