{"id":906,"date":"2013-11-05T23:37:19","date_gmt":"2013-11-05T23:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=906"},"modified":"2013-11-05T23:54:48","modified_gmt":"2013-11-05T23:54:48","slug":"how-do-you-grow-a-good-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/11\/how-do-you-grow-a-good-life.html","title":{"rendered":"How do you grow a good life?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Maureen<\/a>So often, I hear people who have chronic illness say, “I want a life!” or “I don’t even have a life!”<\/p>\n

I understand what they mean. All of us experience that wrenching away from what we have enjoyed or found comfort in. Cherished activities, relationships, meaningful work. And it can be really tough to see anything as good in the future, especially life in general, one’s own life in particular.<\/p>\n

But do we really “have<\/em>” a life? Even if we are in good health? Or, would it help to look at life a little differently?<\/p>\n

As a writer, I know that none of my work, be it articles, books, or this blog, will get written unless I put the pieces together one word at a time. In this sense, I don’t “have” a written product at all, but rather I “grow” it from all of the pieces that I bring together in it. Words, yes, and thought, perspective, information – there are all sorts of “seeds” that I plant on the page in order to have, one day, a fully-grown authored work.<\/p>\n

So it is, I have found, with life with chronic illness and pain. There’s nothing easy about these days and nights when health concerns are foremost, seeming to hold us back and down from what we really want to have and do. But, if we look at our lives as works-in-progress where we “seed” our time with good things, we can see that, in order to enjoy a good life, one that brings at least some satisfaction, light, and joy, we need to work at it seed-by-seed.<\/p>\n

The things we do today will impact how well we are able to cope, relate, and benefit from the good seeds we’ve planted. \u00a0 A grand thought to take to heart, especially as so much of the rest of our lives is out of our control, as it is with chronic illness.<\/p>\n

Wonderful friendships aren’t “had” as if they can be bought off the shelf. Fitness, education, faith, the very essence of who we are as God’s children – each of these, too, is built, grown, and strengthened by each step we take.<\/p>\n

How do we grow good lives?<\/p>\n

One blessed seed at a time!<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,
\nMaureen<\/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. 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