{"id":654,"date":"2013-04-23T22:23:24","date_gmt":"2013-04-23T22:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=654"},"modified":"2013-04-23T20:40:32","modified_gmt":"2013-04-23T20:40:32","slug":"chronic-pain-feeding-the-soul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/04\/chronic-pain-feeding-the-soul.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Pain: Feeding the Soul"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Maureen<\/a>We all have our favorite comfort foods. For some, simple bread or a cup of herbal tea soothes. For others, a hearty, full-course, down home dinner does the trick. I keep chocolate handy, and also, of all things, relish (pardon the pun) a big bowl of popcorn. Those among us who have health issues and are on limited diets might have to adapt previous go-to comfort foods to their new regimen, which can be very difficult and emotional. And, of course, there is the overriding desire to be as healthful as possible, even when it comes to eating for reasons other than extreme hunger.<\/p>\n

But food is really only one part of the comfort-seeking equation. For, if we only think that by eating that meatloaf or chocolate covered almond (or two, or three), we’ll feel spiritually and emotionally better, we’re not being completely honest. Yes, feeding the soul involves more than protein, starch, carbs, and sweets.<\/p>\n

Jesus showed us several times throughout his life how food relates to things spiritual. The very act of giving us Eucharist reflects how precious meals can become major moments of spiritual growth and faith. “Breaking bread,” with Jesus and his disciples meant and means so much more than allotting portions of a warm wheat-smelling staple. It was a time to have fellowship, to share a common activity, and to give thanks, praise, and prepare for time beyond the table.<\/p>\n

As we seek those things that bring smiles and comfort to our lives of pain, we need not separate food for the body from food for the soul. That is, we don’t have to gobble down our delicacies and then hurry over to our bibles. No, the more we intertwine our corporeal lives with our spiritual selves, the more whole we can become.<\/p>\n

Give thanks for the food that brings us strength and the faith that sustains our souls!<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

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

We all have our favorite comfort foods. For some, simple bread or a cup of herbal tea soothes. For others, a hearty, full-course, down home dinner does the trick. I keep chocolate handy, and also, of all things, relish (pardon the pun) a big bowl of popcorn. Those among us who have health issues and…<\/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],"tags":[536,365,5,539,533,534,11,535,537,457,538],"class_list":["post-654","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","tag-chocolate","tag-comfort-foods","tag-eating","tag-eucharist","tag-feeding","tag-feeding-the-soul","tag-food","tag-foods","tag-jesus","tag-strength","tag-the-last-supper"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic Pain: Feeding the Soul - 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\/2013\/04\/chronic-pain-feeding-the-soul.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic Pain: Feeding the Soul - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We all have our favorite comfort foods. 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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\/654","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=654"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":656,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654\/revisions\/656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}