{"id":875,"date":"2013-10-16T21:42:19","date_gmt":"2013-10-16T21:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=875"},"modified":"2013-10-10T21:55:13","modified_gmt":"2013-10-10T21:55:13","slug":"soft-but-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/10\/soft-but-strong.html","title":{"rendered":"Soft, but Strong"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Maureen<\/a>It was a day like any other – except I was having a terrible flare and could barely move. I had all of my meds, food, water, a book I could barely read because holding it hurt. But, what I didn’t have was enough toilet paper and, with this particular flare, this was a really terrible problem.<\/p>\n

Ordinarily, this would not be such a crisis. I’d drag myself out and get enough for the duration of the flare. Yes, I’m usually the last person who, when she needs help, doesn’t ask for it. But with this flare, well, going out was just not going to happen.<\/p>\n

I could have called a local delivery service. But somehow, paying a delivery charge of, oh, probably more than three times the cost of the precious tissue seemed ludicrous, especially with all of the other medically necessary expenses the flare had ungraciously brought.<\/p>\n

So it was that I called a friend.<\/p>\n

If you’re healthy, you might at this poing think, “Duh. Why didn’t she do this in the first place?” But many of my fellow chronic illness sufferers will understand – Some of us doggedly, stubbornly cling to independence unless we’re nearly unconscious. And even then, we like to direct traffic!<\/p>\n

I felt completely weak and silly asking a friend to buy and deliver a pack of toilet tissue. I mean, couldn’t I at least have needed something dire? \u00a0(Although, believe me, the situation was just about as dire as it could be.) \u00a0But the immediate, unconditional response of my friend (“Of course. Anything else you need?”) made me realize that asking for help when we really need it is not soft or weak, but rather a strong testament to God putting resources in our lives, relationships that work, and good people who want to do good things.<\/p>\n

So, I had a “soft but strong” day in more ways than one.<\/p>\n

And, of course, I always tell people I’ll do the same for them. They have only to ask!<\/p>\n

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

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

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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\/875","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=875"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":876,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875\/revisions\/876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}