If you’ve spent any length of time wandering around the Interwebs (Hello, Pinterest!) you know that there is no end to the suggestions, prescriptions or affirmations for people with Chronic Illness.
And I have a big admission to make.
From someone who doesn’t have a chronic illness, I sometimes find these a bit odd.
“3 postures to help with X disease.”
or
“The scent that will bring you peace even as you face X”
or even,
“Exercises you can do even if you have X”
At first I dismissed any such posts as ‘unnecessary’ – but now I try and approach them with humility. Why the change?
Love in a Time of Chronic Illness: How to balance Scepticism with Love
The reality is, the longer I travel down this Watching road, the more I realise that everyone’s situation is utterly different. What helps someone may not necessarily help someone else – but also might!
I’ve also learnt that there’s many, many diseases conditions and struggles that I know nothing about – so how dare I judge them? How dare I dismiss them?
I want to use every opportunity to grow in humility and not pride. And sometimes that means learning more rather than navigating away. It means frowning in thought rather than sneering, or listening rather than dismissing.
I am not called to cure people, I am called to love – and how can I love if I don’t enter into the circumstances of others, if I don’t listen to rejoice in their solutions or listen to their problems?
It’s okay to find things strange, but it’s not okay to dismiss them without a fair trial. I have not experienced a reality where I need postures, or scent or exercises to help with a disease. I am thankful for that, but also hyper-aware that this gives me even less right to judge.
This is the 3rd in a series of posts called Love in a Time of Chronic Illness. The others include:
1. The gift that wasn’t for her (when loving people doesn’t make you happy)
2. Am I my family’s keeper?
// What about you? Do you also find it easy to judge or dismiss what you don’t understand? Are you a sceptical soul (like me!) and does that ever get in the way of loving others?
PS: Enjoyed the post above? Get the next one delivered straight to you! Sign up for email notifications
I’m also on Facebook, Pinterest & Twitter! Meet me there for more interesting reads, resources and community.
