Annie J. Flint’s “He Giveth More Grace” contains one of my all time favorite choruses:
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men,
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
My article in the October issue of In Touch magazine is proof of that truth, and I am humbled and privileged to share it with readers. Remember, you can always get a free subscription to our magazine by going here.
If you are dealing with an illness or something that is causing you sleepless nights, please leave me a message below, leaving whatever information you feel like sharing. It would be my honor to pray for you!
I totally understand where you are coming from, Jamie. I’ve lived with some pain for most of my life, but when a work-related injury put me on the ‘permanently disabled’ list, I felt like my world had tilted sideways. And I have been given the same scripture — “My grace is sufficient for you because My strength is made perfect in weakness.” There are days when I canNOT get out of bed. Days when I can’t lift my grandkids on my lap without hurting myself to the point of tears. But I hold on to that Grace and pray for a better day to come.
Love you, my sister.
That’s all we’re asked to do, trust and obey. I don’t know about you, but I sure am looking forward to heaven and the perfect homes and bodies that await us all. 🙂
Jamie, that was an inspiring story! Thank you for sharing it with us. I would appreciate it if you would pray for my wife, Christi. She is currently experiencing some pretty severe pain from degenerative arthritis and other issues in her back. It’s not debilitating…yet. They are going to try an injection next week to see if that helps. We are praying that she won’t need surgery. I would just like her to not hurt any more.
I will do, sir. I know what it’s like not to know or trust your body. Please keep me posted!
Hi Jamie 🙂 I read your article in In Touch magazine “If he wills, I will” and I just wanted to tell you that it has given me more hope than any other healing story (the ones in the bible seem surreal to me now). I’m sure you understand how hard it can be to keep faith when your world has been burnt to ashes. I am a 21 year old suffering from lupus and transverse myelitis (also autoimmune diseases in MS’s category).Long story short, last november I woke up and was unable to walk. It will be a year this november and still have not seen much improvement from what I initially got back. I am still paralyzed from the waist down and daily deal with the hell my life has become; and now the paralysis is taking a toll on other organs. Of course the doctor’s tell me nothing is going to change, but I just wanted to tell you, you gave me a small bubble of hope. I pray every day and ask for healing in jesus’ name, and it keeps getting harder to believe that ” by his stripes we are healed” among other scriptures. Again, thank you for your hope, if you have any words for me, I would love to hear them. I believe this should show you my e-mail, if not, let me know, I would love to hear more of your story as well, and am looking forward to your response!
Love in Christ,
Shawnee
Shawnee, thank you so much for your kind words. Doctors thought I had both Lupus and Transverse Myelitis for a time before my official diagnosis, so I know exactly what that uncertainty feels like. It sounds like you’re walking a much more difficult road than I have had to up until this point, but what I can tell you about it is that at no time whatsoever are you walking alone. Our heavenly Father is with you, and He’s taking you on this journey for a reason. If you’re like me, He had to get you alone for awhile, lay you low to get your attention. And once He’s done working on you, you will be able to look back and see the “why” behind the “how.” I know it’s so hard, so frightening, and sometimes so hopeless, but you have to keep trusting Him and keep relying on Him and leaning on His amazing strength.
Medically speaking, doctors are making scores of advances every day, and diseases like ours that used to be true death sentences are now managed through drug treatments and therapies. Have you made contact with the National Lupus Foundation (http://www.lupus.org/newsite/index.html) or the Transverse Myelitis Association (http://www.myelitis.org/) yet? If they’re anything like the MS Association, they have resources and can point you to the best doctors and specialists in your area. I know for a fact that finding the right human doctor to be the hands and feet of the great Physician is key. Full healing may not be God’s plan for you, but He will bring you to the “new normal” that He has in store. You are truly in my thoughts and prayers!
Hi Jamie, I was so glad to be able to find you (google truly is a wonderful tool!) so that I can share with you just how much I understand what you’ve been through….In the busyness of life and all that fills our days, I don’t usually get the opportunity to sit and read through the In Touch magazines, I ususally just flip straight to the devotionals, but as I flipped through the pages your article caught my eye, more specifically the words “My illness was an answer to a prayer I had yet to voice”. Anytime I see the word illness and prayer it catches my attention….I too have MS. So I sat in my quiet time and read your article….I am astounded once again at how God draws us to certain things in such an amazing way. I couldn’t believe how parallel our stories are, literally down to the part of lying on the bathroom floor (maybe it’s an MS thing, haha!) and having God flood my heart with His words from 2 corinthians 12:9! I’m amazed…truly! I asked my husband to read the article also, because I just couldn’t believe it! I was diagnosed in Jan 2007 and i was so textbook MS that as I waited for my MRI results I had already spoken to God about what I knew was to come asking Him to prepare my heart; as the dr read the results I already knew. But as the reality set in it the burden grew heavier, hence my time on the bathroom floor! I’d love to stay in contact with you, it’s a great feeling to know someone else who knows exactly what you’re going through. The daily injections are annoying but I am truly thankful for the wisdom God has given the medical community to allow me to function daily and physically feel my feet touch the floor every morning when I step out of bed. God truly is so awesome in every way…hope you are doing well; God bless you for sharing your story and allowing God to show others His hope and amazing love even in our trials. In His name….Mary G.
Mary, thank you so much for your kind words. Yes, it is always better when “two or more are gathered”–whether that be for prayer or for support. I am doing wonderfully, crazy busy as can be and totally loving it.
I can tell you if you’re feeling well and want to give back to the community, I’ve volunteered with a few MS offices in different places as a peer advisor/counselor. It has been very rewarding to find folks who are just now going through something that we’ve dealt with and “put to bed” so to speak. It’s a great way to meet others in the community and be the listening ear we’re all dying for when we get diagnosed. I don’t know what I would have done without a lady named Cookie, a nurse who had MS, who talked me down off the ledge when I first got the news. She told me the truth, gave me the real 411, and made it seem a little more manageable. I hope to do some further volunteer work with them in the future, and you sound like you have a great heart for it as well! So glad to hear that you are doing well and that your medication is working correctly. It sure does make a huge difference for me, that much I can tell you. I will keep you in my prayers!
Dear Jamie,
I thank you for having the courage to share your story. I too am a survivor living wit M. S. and recently surpassed the ten year mark on 08/29/12. I too have experienced first hand incidents that only God had complete control over. I also find myself quoting James 4:14-15 regularly, most recently during a Bible Class that I recently completed on 10/15/12. I am here to confirm what you already know. God is in control and he is who he says he is and keeps all of his promises. I pray that you will make contact with with me in the future. Thank you again for your article which I discovered in the In Touch magazine. My prayers will be with you.
Sincerely,
Michelle Williams
Michelle,
I appreciate your kind words of encouragement. I’m so thankful that this article has touched so many people and encouraged them to keep up the good fight. Sometimes, it’s difficult to keep going through the fatigue and the worry, but every morning, I can get up and do everything because God wills it. He doesn’t ask us to understand His way, just to obey it, and I can live with that. Thank you so much for reading and for leaving such a wonderful comment. It made my day!
No thank you for graciously responding to my post. Since reading your article. I have reviewed all other posts written by (Deborah, Jeff, Shawnee and Mary) and added each one to my continous prayer list and as of this morning called each of their names to God. I take prayer as a very serious assignment and although a member of another congregation here in Chicago. I am also a member of Intouch’s (Impact Prayer Team). Offering your article to the magazine has allowed me to move into an intesessor’s favorite position. You’ve encouraged me and I take this opportunity to share a few my favorite scriptures with you (Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 24:11, Isaiah 43:1-4, James 4:14-15).
As far as my M.S. I was lucky enough in 2002 to self diagnose. I was working as a Job Placement Counselor when I made my discovery. God in his wisdom allowed me to serve a population of people in the position that he gave to me who had varying disabilities (mental and physical) or a combination thereof. And it was through this position of service that God revealed to me where he was leading my life. I had begun falling for no apparent reason and God showed me within my client files that my body was beginning to display symptoms of one of those whom he had sent me to serve after which another client encouraged me to Google my symptoms. Which I decided to do on my lunch breaks. After about (2) weeks I think I literally might have read through three teams of paper. And all of the research pointed towards M.S. I could not comprehend how those two letters referred to me. Post Googling I shared my concerns with a co-worker who ironically was a registerd nurse
who confirmed my suspicions. A short (3) months later I was clinically diagnosed just (19) days shy of my (34th) birthday. Today, I can only share that my Lord and Savior has been guiding my life every step of the way even when I could not see clearly through the waterfall of tears that have ebbed and tied. Feel free to make contact with me anytime.
Your Sister In Christ ,
Michelle Williams