{"id":1915,"date":"2015-12-16T17:29:06","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T17:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1915"},"modified":"2015-12-14T17:45:37","modified_gmt":"2015-12-14T17:45:37","slug":"chronic-illness-the-hard-part-of-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/12\/chronic-illness-the-hard-part-of-the-holidays.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Illness: The Hard Part of the Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Second<\/a>During the year, we try to surround ourselves with people who care for and about us. Family, friends, a strong medical team – these people and even some strangers help us through our days of pain and illness challenges.<\/p>\n

But at holiday time, as larger groups gather, our insulated world opens up a bit – or more. Family members we don’t see often arrive, complete strangers come into our “world” as we travel, and others intent on their own errands, shopping expeditions, and often-frantic activities move around us (sometimes even bumping right into us!). \u00a0And this reality, that we are not as “protected” as we usually are, can be the hard part of the holidays. For even as we try to make the most of this time, others who are not as careful or compassionate might however accidentally make our lives much more difficult than they already are. I’m thinking of the flight attendant who won’t assist with a clumsy bag, a cashier who gets impatient as we fumble with our bills and coins, or a traveler who hastily turns or strides right into our aching selves.<\/p>\n

Yes, we can feel mighty vulnerable. But one thing that helps me is remembering that God is not on vacation at this time. The same support and protection that we enjoy from the Lord during the year is present as we dare venture a bit farther out of our insulated world. Moreover, God knows what our frailties are, and somehow never fails in bringing angels into our world just when we need them. These are also many times strangers, but all times welcome. Holiday gifts. Manifestations of the Spirit of love.<\/p>\n

So, even if you are a bit fearful of leaving your comfortable surroundings and mighty support system, know that God is with you always and everywhere. And with the protection that comes from our Lord, dare even more to enjoy this time and recognize the angels that you meet all along the way.<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

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

During the year, we try to surround ourselves with people who care for and about us. Family, friends, a strong medical team – these people and even some strangers help us through our days of pain and illness challenges. But at holiday time, as larger groups gather, our insulated world opens up a bit –…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,3,1422,43,1242,4,1047,578,1245],"tags":[1976,19,1977],"class_list":["post-1915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-chronic-pain-and-the-holidays","category-encouragement-in-life","category-food-for-thought","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","category-good","category-goodness","category-positive","tag-holiday-travel","tag-illness","tag-illness-and-travel"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic Illness: The Hard Part of the Holidays - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It can be scary to venture out during the holidays, but God is with us always!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic Illness: The Hard Part of the Holidays - 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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\/1915","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=1915"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1916,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1915\/revisions\/1916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}