You have come to the right place! First, DS, the main forums are health forums. That attracts a lot of people like you and I, who are suffering from various incurable conditions.

My condition (Rheumatoid Arthritis) won't kill me soon, but it is painful, wearing, and can cause organ damage that does lead to death. I have also had a terrible time with medications, and them failing, side effects that were too bad to stay on the meds, and now I am faced with a lot of joint reconstructions and replacements - 7 at the moment. And these are not simple surgeries, but with months of recovery time. As for me, I have been on disability since 1999, so I understand your concerns about work, and how difficult some jobs can be.

But that is the physical! In this group, we do look at the spiritual. It sounds like you are trusting God, and that is the best thing anyone can do. And yes, God does have a plan for each of us, but sometimes, it is hard to be suffering, when everyone else seems to be doing well. Well, until you look closely at their lives, and find out that everyone has something! If it is not health, it is finances, or relationships, or many other things.

Plus, you are quite young, so to be positive at this age is so important. I went into a deep depression the first 8 years I had RA. I turned away from God, stopped reading my Bible, going to church, and praying. But, God did not turn away from me. He got me reading 5 Psalms a day for 2 years, got me in the right church for me, at that time, then called me to seminary! Wow! God is so faithful!

I will give you a few of my favourite verses.

"More than that we rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character and character produces hope. And hope does not disappoint, because God's love has been poured out by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5

"Now, this is what the Lord says,
the one who created you, O Jacob,
and formed you, O Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect you.
I call you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;
when you pass through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not harm you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your deliverer." Isa. 43:1b-3a

My recommendation is don't neglect to read your Bible every day! God will give you your own Scriptures to pray about and meditate on. And do go to church -a bible believing one, far from Word Faith.

"Heavenly Father, I pray for missingfiber, that you would give her strength to endure, and comfort her, on the difficult days. Bring loving and caring people into her life, to encourage her. And let her life be a testimony to your grace and mercy. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!"

I am sure others will join in this conversation, and I have a lot more special verses to give you, in the coming weeks.

Thank you so much! I did join a group for my condition but I didn’t just want to address the physical war I’m dealing with but the spritual war too.. Part of my condition has kept me from going to church a lot lately because I have bad health days on the weekend from pushing my body too much. I certainly takes a toll mentally to not be able to socialize with people especially fellow believers..

It’s so hard because when I do go I feel disconnected because part of me feels judged as to why I don’t go oft or why I need to leave or sit in the lobby to listen to services on high pain days. People look at me and think I’m too young to have anything major.

I don’t want to keep it all bottled up either and I know I need prayer and to be in the Word more. Every time I talk to my mom about this, she keeps reassuring me that God has a greater purpose in all of this and I know she’s right that my current career is not where I am meant to be. Maybe the higher purpose is helping others in more difficult situations and be involved in missions again.. similar to a path like yours.

Thank you again for the encouragement. It is a relief to know there are other Christians in similar life circumstances who are persevering.

missingfiber, you are not alone. You are young. We can speak from years of discovering.

It is ok...it is sooo ok... to yell at God, (He has big shoulders) to think that others are looking at you weird (its probably because they are hurt and confused also...not really concerned with you). Lean on Jesus (He has big shoulders).

All of this is well and good. But, trite saying will NOT get you through until you are ready.

I have hypo-thyroid...I prayed God heal me. Found out I was diabetic...I prayed God heal me. Had a stroke..,prayed God help me through. Had a heart attach...prayed God heal me. Had a subdural hematoma... prayed "God you there?"

Then, I prayed, God use me for your glory however you see fit. He said, "Ok...hang on!"

I have learned in everything, give thanks!

Philippians 4:4 New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Psalm 118:24 New Life Version (NLV)
24 This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be full of joy and be glad in it.

I love this scripture because it reminds me, even if its gloomy, stormy, or just not a good day out...God has given me a new day to start again. Every day He gives me I should thank Him.

Psalm 30:5 New Living Translation (NLT)
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
    but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
    but joy comes with the morning

There is sooo much more to this scripture than most say.

Even God gets angry. But, he doesn't stay there. And, weeping only lasts so long. There will be a sun that breaks through the clouds. A beautiful, warm feeling.

So, yes, we speak from experience...we speak from years of dealing with our own issues. There has been crying, there has been being very angry at God. There have been weeks of thinking everybody else is looking down on you (sorry to say, but, you are not that important to everyone else...they are dealing with there own issues)

I am sorry this has been brutally honest. But, been there, done that. Here is my take-away.

God loves you. Loves you sooo much he sent His one and ONLY Son to take your place.
And I, though we just met love you, sister.

Jesus, I lift my new sister to you. Show her what she and you can accomplish. Show her what I have learned...you are AWESOME!!!

Don't tell God how big your problems are...
Tell your problems HOW BIG and Wondrous you God is!!!

Let's connect.

Hi Sweetie,
I'll chime in with these wonderful women. I too live every day with health problems and have since I was very young. Marlene and Mary are very intelligent women.
I'm sorry for your health problems, but I believe Romans 8:28 though it's difficult to understand at times (I sure didn't understand it when I first had my strokes and couldn't play with the other children). Living close to God is the key to sanity when you're going through hard times. Will keep you in my prayers. God bless you.

Thank you ladies for your honesty and insight. It’s comforting to hear that there are other women who have shared similar struggles and have held onto faith. Thank you for letting me know it’s on to feel what I am feeling and not understand His higher plan but remember that there is one. It’s nice to know there are others out there who understand what I am going through and even more that God knows. Thank you again sisters for helping redirect my gaze to the only one who gives joy and the strength to persevere any storm. God bless you all!

You are sooo welcome

Glad I found this site, the scriptures are so comforting and will help to keep things in perspective. I have not yet been diagnosed with RA but have been referred to a rheumatologist due to blood test results, etc. After reading up on this disease and what might be in my future, I think that it would be very helpful to have a support group who know so much more than I do at this point. Thank you!

Truthseeker24, I thought the exact same thing when I was looking around for in person/online. My doctors at first thought I had RA/fibromyalgia and I went through so many tests throughout the years and finally got diagnosed with EDS and POTS. Don’t give up on looking for the answers for your health concerns and don’t let confused doctors make you feel like your condition inside your head. God will give the right doctor the right diagnosis for you at the right time or a doctor who will point you to the correct doctor.. my rheumatologist is the one who discovered the Hypermobile part of my condition and referred me to the doctor who is now the ONLY specialist I see. Thank God! Praying you’ll get the right doctors and answers soon!

Unfortunately, women are less believed when they are sick. It took me 3 years to get a diagnosis of RA, when I was severe, and another 5 years to get on decent meds. You really have to attack these auto-immune diseases hard at the beginning, or they will rapidly become severe. Which is my sad case.

As for you missingfiber, I am so glad they gave you a diagnosis and some treatment. I hope we can continue to encourage you!

I will also pray for you, truthseeker, to find a doctor who can figure what is wrong, and get you on the right meds. If it is RA, feel free to send me a pm. We can discuss what to expect.

Here is another verse that I often meditate on. It takes my eyes off me, and puts them back on God.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths,"Prov. 3:5-6

I created an account solely to reply to this thread. I was just now feeling down and a Google search brought me to this site. For some reason I clicked on your post and saw that you are also dealing with EDS like me. I wanted to thank you for sharing your story on here :)

First, I would like to say sorry. I lost sight of this thread.
I would like to be back in the loop.

Truthseeker, sorry to hear you have been diagnosed with possible RA. Not an easy diagnoses.
Prayer for/with you my friend.

Missingfiber, wow. I am glad you got diagnosed...but, not my favorite things.
Great advise...just because the have titles after their name doesn't mean they know it all. Sometimes, visiting with different specialist can be to your benefit. I know it gets...depressing that no one seems to understand. But, you might just find THE one who does understand.

Don't give up ladies. Even now I get referred to other specialist from my specialist.

And, Marlene, so glad to see your encouraging words.

Varian, glad you joined us. God was working behind the scenes with you.

Wow! I am sooo glad I found the courage to join this site and post. I am glad many people are able to share through it.
Vaurion, if you ever need to talk to EDS I’m here.