My New Life: Support

This week I talked to a real, live person who has Interstitial Cystitis (IC)!!! I talked with a member of an IC support group that meets about an hour away from where I live. It was great to talk to a person who understands what I am going through, because they are going through some of the same things.

Of course, I have talked to people with IC on my Facebook support pages. I have talked with people from all over the world. They have helped me so much and I am very grateful for them all. Some days I'm not sure what I would do without their support and encouragement!!!

But it was soooo nice to hear a real, live voice on the other end. I think we could have talked for hours about about the things we go through because of IC, the treatments we have tried because of IC and how much it has changed our lives.

I look forward to meeting with their support group soon. I have finally decided that I need to meet with others who know exactly how hard it is some days just to make the decision to get out out of bed, because you feel so tired. They can relate to what a struggle it can be some days just to get dressed and ready to go to work or church. People who live with pain on a daily basis...just like me.

I think it is helpful to be around people who have things in common with you. My church family is also very important to me. I can hardly describe how wonderful it is to me to be having a good day and feel good enough to go to church and spend time with my church family. This is what the psalmist said in Psalms 84:1-2 "How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."

I was blessed to have a good day on Wednesday. I went to church that night. We were not able to meet in our regular room. There was a problem with the air conditioning. So we met in a small room that is used for the 2 year old children in our church's Daycare. It was not at all what we were used to and we were all closer together than usual...for some reason God is bringing our church family out of their comfort zone and bringing us physically closer together.

For a few months now the air conditioning has been out in our sanctuary. We have been meeting on Sunday in our Fellowship Hall. Again, this is different and out of the ordinary and the seats are closer together....hmm, I think God is trying to tell us something.

Maybe God is trying to get my church family closer together, so that we all build relationships with each other and really get to know each other. Maybe it is just me that needs this lesson. What do y'all think??!!

I think we need to be around others who we can bond with and we can also hold each other accountable. It is good to be in a caring, drama free, judgement free atmosphere. It is also comforting to spend time with the Lord to feel His peace and love. When you spend time with your church family, you can feel refreshed and strengthened for the struggles that may be ahead.

If you have any kind of chronic pain, care for a loved one with an illness, or if you are a Mom was has a chronic illness or maybe you just feel lonely or need your spirit lifted; you should reach out for support.

I want to encourage all of you to find a support group that best fits your needs. We all need help, we all need encouragement. I hope that you will be proactive and seek help through a support group or church family.

If you need any help or have any questions, I will try to help you as much as I possible. If I don't know the answer, I will research it and find an answer. Please click on the video below for a personal message from yours truly. Let me know your thoughts below.