{"id":2006,"date":"2016-04-05T18:51:33","date_gmt":"2016-04-05T18:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=2006"},"modified":"2016-04-03T19:05:53","modified_gmt":"2016-04-03T19:05:53","slug":"chronic-pain-and-illness-when-you-cannot-predict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/04\/chronic-pain-and-illness-when-you-cannot-predict.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Pain and Illness: When You Cannot Predict"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of MrWildLife at FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was intrigued by a listing in my 2016 Farmer’s Almanac that indicated chipmunks would emerge from hibernation on March 26. Yes, it gave a specific date! And although there aren’t any chipmunks around where I live (at least, not that I’ve ever seen), I have friends and family in places where they abound. So, I put a few people on “Chipmunk Watch.”<\/p>\n

As March 26 approached, I was very eager to hear the first, “I saw one!” Oh, the anticipation!<\/p>\n

But the 26th came and went without a one emerging from wherever it might have spent the winter. And, still, I haven’t heard of a single sighting. Perhaps you have?<\/p>\n

This experience correllates with living with chronic illness and pain, too. We look at the calendar and think, “Okay, winter’s coming and my arthritis is going to be horrible.” or, “Spring is blooming, so hot weather is around the corner, and I know I’m going to feel miserable.”<\/p>\n

If we know our health conditions well enought, there’s probably some degree of truth in these predictions. But, we also know that there will always be something out of our hands and times when we cannot predict. So, instead of tensing up, next time we feel like prognosticating, we might just ease back. Take whatever precautions we might to prevent\u00a0any adverse effects of seasonal change and just enjoy the awesome unfolding of nature’s many cycles.<\/p>\n

I’ve given up on Chipmunk Watch. They’ll be out and about sooner or later. And when they appear, I’ll be ready to enjoy hearing about their antics!<\/p>\n

Joy and peace,<\/p>\n

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

I was intrigued by a listing in my 2016 Farmer’s Almanac that indicated chipmunks would emerge from hibernation on March 26. Yes, it gave a specific date! And although there aren’t any chipmunks around where I live (at least, not that I’ve ever seen), I have friends and family in places where they abound. So,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,1242,1047,578],"tags":[2080,29,44,2079,1291,467,2078,454],"class_list":["post-2006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-encouragement-in-life","category-food-for-thought","category-good","category-goodness","tag-animals-and-us","tag-chronic-illness","tag-chronic-pain","tag-enjoying-nature","tag-illness-and-pain","tag-nature","tag-predicting-flares","tag-spring"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic Pain and Illness: When You Cannot Predict - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How to relax as seasons change\" \/>\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\/2016\/04\/chronic-pain-and-illness-when-you-cannot-predict.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic Pain and Illness: When You Cannot Predict - 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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\/2006","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=2006"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2008,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2006\/revisions\/2008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}