• girl in white and black striped shirt lying face flat on bed with blonde hair covering face
    Body,  Chronic Illness

    Eight Survival Tips for the Isolated, by the Isolated

    I have to say, this time of quarantine has honestly not been so bad. Because for the most part, nothing for me has changed. February 2018, I became too sick to continue going to work. By March, I no longer even had a vehicle. It was just me and my baby home every day all day. And that’s how it’s been nearly every day for the past two years. Now given, I was often too sick to even get out of bed. And yes, many days I had someone there to help me. But it never changed the fact that we were always home and rarely venturing out. So when…

  • black and white photo of crowd of people sitting down
    Addiction

    These Are the Ones Who Fill This Earth

    “I lost another nephew.” My neighbor said as she treaded through the puddles in black. She looked weak, as if she carried the weight of that lost soul upon her. The heaviness in her heart was thicker than the humid air around us. And I could feel it. I could feel it because I had also just lost someone I knew. Someone who had grown up with my brothers. Someone who had once played hide and go seek with me on our beach vacation. And this someone loved the Lord very much. But this someone also struggled with addiction. And then one day, that addiction won. I didn’t know her…

  • black and white of womans face looking down with hair covering half of face
    Addiction

    Addiction: You Can Overcome

    I often wonder what it would have been like these past two years had my brother still been alive. Yes, my family was very supportive during my battle with sickness, but what would he have done? What would he have said to encourage me? So many days I felt like he was the one I needed to comfort me. All I wished was that I could go back to his letters and find the words that would help me through everything. But he’s gone. He was still needed here, but he’s gone. I can no longer help him. But I can help others who are still fighting this battle. If…

  • pink and orange wildflowers in a grassy field on a cloudy day
    Chronic Illness,  Spirit

    Don’t Worry about Tomorrow

    It was February of 2018 when I decided that I could no longer hold a job. I had to get my health under control. But I will be honest. I did not make this decision willingly. I loved my job. I had been there almost six years, and I had worked my way up to my dream position, complete with my own office. How could anyone expect me to just let go? My husband and I had been comfortable in our jobs. We had been renting an apartment for years. We finally had our first child. We were ready for the next big step of buying a house. I daydreamed…