After a diagnosis: Why do I feel numb?

There are no safe guards in this life.

Just because someone suffers from lupus, doesn’t mean they can’t get diagnosed with appendicitis.

Last week my mum who has type 1 diabetes and multiple chronic illnesses was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

It’s not fair.

And that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be.

I’m going to try not to make this post a mere outpouring of my raw emotions, because that is neither helpful for others, nor in line with the tradition of this blog.

That said, such a diagnosis WILL impact my writing, and it’s not something I can keep quiet about. Partly because it’s real and leaking into every corner of my life, and partly because I hold out the hope that my reflections might help others going through similar trials.

At the moment I’m in the numb stage.
It sort of doesn’t seem real. How can this be happening to my own mum?
Continue reading “After a diagnosis: Why do I feel numb?”

What does society say about sickness (PART 2)?

What does society say about healing, prayer, heaven and sacrificial giving?
Have you been duped?

What do we really think about chronic illness? In the depths of our hearts, in the stillness of our bedrooms… are we really as kind as we think?

Here’s my thoughts on what society is perhaps “really” saying (or thinking!) about chronic illness and care-giving.

If some of these observations seem a bit too harsh, let me reiterate my definitions of “society”:

ONE: secular, not-specifically-Bible-based, thought.

TWO:  individual-focused, 21st century, Western culture (because that’s where I live)

THREE: the ‘natural’ whispers of my heart when it is not focused on Jesus.

You see? If this post is harsh, it is harsh towards myself. If this post is judgemental, I am sitting in the dock as well as on the jury.

Let’s examine ourselves together, and not be afraid of what we might uncover.

This is Part 2 of “What does society say about sickness?”

What society says about prayer

Continue reading “What does society say about sickness (PART 2)?”

What does society say about chronic illness (PART 1)?

We know what the Bible says about sickness, but what does society say?
Perhaps it can provide another answer. Even a better answer.

We learnt that the Bible has some guidelines which can help us formulate an ‘answer’ to sickness.

But we can’t stop there.

I think it is important we look at the flip side.

What does society say about Chronic Illness?

A definition of ‘society’

Now, by ‘society’, I mean secular, not-specifically-Bible-based, thought.

I mean the individual-focused, 21st century, Western culture in which I live.

I mean the ‘natural’ whispers of my heart when it is not focused on Jesus.

can you really define ‘society’ like this?

Wait! If at this point you have an objection, I am with you.

If your objection is: ‘We can unearth what the Bible says about sickness by reading it, but how can we discover what society says? It’s too subjective. There’s no manual.’ then I’m with you also.

There is no book for society. It is made up of so many ideologies and sympathies. ‘Society’ is different in different cultures and countries and times.

How on earth can we hope to pin down in one post the response of ‘society in general’ to chronic illness?

To even consider doing so seems pretentious on the largest scale.

Continue reading “What does society say about chronic illness (PART 1)?”