Like this:

It’s been one week since I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis.  I’ve been through a lot of emotions in the days since.  I think I was in shock at first.  I didn’t really know what questions to ask my doctor (rheumatologist).  Once my doctor stated the diagnosis and explained her proposed course of action and what my medication options were, it seemed pretty straight forward.  I took the papers she gave me which included an overview of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) as well as information about the two medications we discussed, and left the office.  I went to my car and just sat there for a few minutes.  I called my husband but left a voicemail to return my call.  Then I called my best friend to report the doctor’s findings rather matter-of-factly and with very little drama.  It’s just generally how I do things.

Before I had gone into the doctor’s office that day, I had breathed a prayer that I would have an answer to what was going on in my body.  I have heard so many stories from people who undergo test after test, only to be told their doctor has no idea what is going on.  So, my first reaction upon my diagnosis was a kind of relief just for getting an answer.  With a diagnosis there can be a treatment plan for managing the disease rather than chasing after an undiagnosed phantom.

My next thought was, “Well, okay, so I have rheumatoid arthritis.  Now what?”  It never occurs to me to blame God or ask “Why me?”  I have always known that God loves me but that He also doesn’t play favorites.  The fact that I’m a Christian doesn’t mean that I won’t have hardship or tragedy or challenges or pain.  The Bible says that “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:45

I also believe that God can use situations like this as an opportunity for me to learn and grow in my relationship with Him as well as point others to Him by how I manage this disease. I want to glorify God in everything I do; in how I act and react, in how I handle stress, in how I think, in how I express myself, in how I love.  I believe God can use any situation, however daunting it may be, to reveal Himself and to bring glory to His name.  I pray that I will continue to be moldable and teachable as clay in the Potter’s hands and that He will re-shape me into a vessel for His use and His glory.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord—Isaiah 55:8

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