{"id":1063,"date":"2014-03-03T23:10:24","date_gmt":"2014-03-03T23:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1063"},"modified":"2014-03-01T23:31:25","modified_gmt":"2014-03-01T23:31:25","slug":"reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html","title":{"rendered":"Reminder: No Two Snowflakes Are Alike!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of jannoon028\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was one of the first things I heard when I was diagnosed with lupus.<\/p>\n

“Lupies are like snowflakes – no two are alike.”<\/p>\n

It’s turned out to be a truly wise statement, in myriad ways. And it’s good to revisit it once in awhile, because sometimes we compare ourselves and our life with illness to others with similar challenges. \u00a0And, when we do, we might be inclined to be jealous or proud or sad or overly frustrated.<\/p>\n

So, a gentle and friendly reminder: No two snowflakes are alike!<\/p>\n

Now, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have anything in common. I learn volumes from my fellow chronic illness sufferers. The people in my lupus support group helped me tremendously, especially in the coping category. But, I remember, too, that our experiences are different simply because we are different people – and the disease (lupus) behaves differently in each one of us.<\/p>\n

The reminder of not being exactly like every other [fill in the blank] patient is also helpful when we try to find and learn more about our condition. All the manifestations of a particular disease might not be present in everyone who has it, and all of the side effect of medications used to treat it may not manifest themselves in everyone, either. \u00a0Time and again, I go back to my main doctor for “the scoop” on how information relates directly to me. I urge each patient to do this, too, and to not be scared by the “horror stories” we hear from others’ experiences.<\/p>\n

God knows us each by name and loves us each as His beloved child. He’s an “equal opportunity” parent, in that He loves each of us equally – but has created in each of us people with individual lives, gifts, and talents. Realizing that we are unique is the first step toward recognizing those gifts and talents and finding ways to put them to use. And that uniqueness extends to our physical lives and the illness and pain we might have.<\/p>\n

Snowflakes might originate from someplace cold, and when they’re clumped together in piles and banks, they might be inconvenient. But if you look closely, they are absolutely amazing and beautiful.<\/p>\n

Next time you find yourself down or displeased by how you look or how you feel, think of the snowflake and its uniqueness and beauty. That’s you, too!
\nBlessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was one of the first things I heard when I was diagnosed with lupus. “Lupies are like snowflakes – no two are alike.” It’s turned out to be a truly wise statement, in myriad ways. And it’s good to revisit it once in awhile, because sometimes we compare ourselves and our life with illness…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,43,4,383],"tags":[947,946,945,944,183,19,30,943],"class_list":["post-1063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-encouragement-in-life","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","category-heart-health","tag-being-a-child-of-god","tag-being-different","tag-being-unique","tag-feeling-down","tag-gods-love","tag-illness","tag-pain","tag-snowflakes"],"yoast_head":"\nReminder: No Two Snowflakes Are Alike! - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reminder: No Two Snowflakes Are Alike! - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This was one of the first things I heard when I was diagnosed with lupus. “Lupies are like snowflakes – no two are alike.” It’s turned out to be a truly wise statement, in myriad ways. And it’s good to revisit it once in awhile, because sometimes we compare ourselves and our life with illness…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-03T23:10:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-03-01T23:31:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2014\/03\/ID-100223150-300x199.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mpratt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reminder: No Two Snowflakes Are Alike! - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reminder: No Two Snowflakes Are Alike! - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","og_description":"This was one of the first things I heard when I was diagnosed with lupus. “Lupies are like snowflakes – no two are alike.” It’s turned out to be a truly wise statement, in myriad ways. And it’s good to revisit it once in awhile, because sometimes we compare ourselves and our life with illness…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html","og_site_name":"Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","article_published_time":"2014-03-03T23:10:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-03-01T23:31:25+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2014\/03\/ID-100223150-300x199.jpg"}],"author":"mpratt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html","name":"Reminder: No Two Snowflakes Are Alike! - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2014\/03\/ID-100223150-300x199.jpg","datePublished":"2014-03-03T23:10:24+00:00","dateModified":"2014-03-01T23:31:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#\/schema\/person\/b47fd8e9d9cc9750d5779f75b8669a32"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2014\/03\/ID-100223150-300x199.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/files\/2014\/03\/ID-100223150-300x199.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/reminder-no-two-snowflakes-are-alike.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reminder: No Two Snowflakes Are Alike!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/","name":"Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt","description":"Beliefnet Voices","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/#\/schema\/person\/b47fd8e9d9cc9750d5779f75b8669a32","name":"mpratt","description":"Several years ago, Maureen Pratt earned her Master of Fine Arts in Theater Arts\/Playwriting from UCLA's School of Theater, FIlm and Television. She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1063"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1065,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063\/revisions\/1065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}