Pain and illness can wear us down, and it’s not unusual for the fatigue to cause other, less physical feelings in us. One of these might be doubt:

We can doubt our ability to get through the latest flare

We can doubt the steadfastness of friends and family

We can doubt the world’s ability to “understand” and not make our situation worse

We can doubt our doctors, especially if there’s no cure in sight for what ails us

We can even, sometimes, in our darkest times, doubt God’s presence and love

When we doubt, or if we feel that inkling of doubt rising up, before we give in completely, it’s helpful to take honest stock of the blessings we’ve already been given, even in our suffering, and the graces we’ve experienced, even without looking for them. Small things, such as the softness of a morning’s quiet. And bigger things, such as a breakthrough in physical therapy. These blessings might not have happened today, or even yesterday. But if we look back honestly at our lives, we know they are there. And with that knowledge, we can then begin to steel ourselves against doubt.

Doubt can cause us to stumble or even begin down a course that is not ultimately healthful or healthy. But if we understand that sometimes we might feel doubt, we can take out our arsenal of memories, times when things have been bad, but something happened to make them better. Times when we felt abandoned, but then someone stepped in to help. Times when we felt far from God, but then experienced a surge of grace, a moment of calm – and we knew He was with us all along.

When in doubt – use your experience to find a way out!

Peace,

Maureen