{"id":791,"date":"2013-08-22T09:22:58","date_gmt":"2013-08-22T09:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=791"},"modified":"2013-08-14T20:39:34","modified_gmt":"2013-08-14T20:39:34","slug":"are-you-ever-sorry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/08\/are-you-ever-sorry.html","title":{"rendered":"Are You Ever Sorry?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of Tina Phillips\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chronic illness and pain are, well, pains to live with. \u00a0There are times when we’re angry, snappish, out of sorts. Sometimes, even if we’re at a happy celebration, our conditions can get in the way of feeling completely integrated into the occasion.<\/p>\n

And, sometimes, in our discomfort, disappointment, pain and angst, we hurt others.<\/p>\n

It’s a hard truth, but not an unknown one, or even an uncommon one. Each of us struggles with it at times. Simply because we suffer does not give us license to vent, lash out, or rain on other people and others’ celebrations or good moods. \u00a0And no amount of our complaining will force others to understand, empathize, sympathize with us, or want to spend more time with us instead of not.<\/p>\n

So…each of us has to keep that good ol’ sense of contrition alive and well. Yup. The “s” word, meaning “sorry,” needs to be part of our vocabulary along with all the other words we use to describe our state of being, health, and life in general. Otherwise, we’ll fester with anger, resentment and jealousy that builds and builds, stifling our ability to live more fully and invite good relationships and love into our circle.<\/p>\n

The blessed thing about being a person of faith as well as someone who has chronic health conditions, is that God loves us unconditionally. When we err, and err we do, He is ready with his forgiveness and love. The more willing we are to extend our “I’m sorry” to others when we need to, the more we’ll feel our loved ones’ care and support, too.<\/p>\n

“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…”<\/p>\n

Yes, sometimes, we need to forgive, but sometimes we need to be forgiven. After all, we who live with chronic illness and pain aren’t saints…but we’re trying to be!<\/p>\n

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

Maureen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

Chronic illness and pain are, well, pains to live with. \u00a0There are times when we’re angry, snappish, out of sorts. Sometimes, even if we’re at a happy celebration, our conditions can get in the way of feeling completely integrated into the occasion. And, sometimes, in our discomfort, disappointment, pain and angst, we hurt others. 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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\/791","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=791"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":793,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791\/revisions\/793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}