Chronic HOPE

Praying this for all of you…and me too!

You do not need the entire week to go perfectly. Ask God for enough light to recognize one kindness, one open door, or one quiet reminder that you are not walking alone.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him.” — Romans 15:13

Begin the week with more Scripture-rooted encouragement through our free devotional linked in bio.

Where does your strength to persevere come from? Only God has unlimited strength to give. 💪🏻

You're invited...to CHRONIC HOPE...in person!
Are you navigating chronic illness or chronic pain or supporting someone who is?
If so, and you live in Berks County, Community Evangelical Church wants to invite you to Chronic Hope, a monthly support group that offers comfort, connection, and Christ-centered encouragement. We have a daytime and nighttime group. In September, we're meeting on Tuesday, 9/15, from 1:30-3 for the day group and on Thursday, 9/17, from 6:30-8 for the night group. The address is 51 Green Valley Rd., Sinking Spring, PA 19608. We meet in the Youth Room, which is downstairs. You can just come or sign up using the QR codes below.

God clearly closed a door on a trip to Ireland we had been planning for 9 months & had cancelled the prior year too. It was disappointing & disheartening, but my husband & I knew we had to cancel & had a peace about it. In addition to the health issues we already knew about, an unexpected one cropped up that sent me to the ER & is still unresolved. So glad we are home & not across the ocean in a foreign country trying to deal with this.

“For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6
“You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3

Trust God with the doors He closes as deeply as you trust Him with the ones He opens.

An open door may feel like favor, while a closed one can feel like rejection. But trust releases the need to understand every turn. Proverbs 3:5–6 invites us to trust in the Lord rather than lean only on our own understanding, allowing Him to direct our paths.

For a gentle reset when the way forward feels unclear, read the free weekly devotional linked in bio.

Even when we don’t feel well or are having a flare of our symptoms, many of us find it hard to rest. It’s ok; you don’t have to be productive every day. Last Sunday through Tuesday, I had a flare (actually a herxheimer reaction) of my Lyme & Babesia…extreme fatigue, weakness, some brain fog. I knew there were things I should be doing, but my body said, “rest.”

Fluent “mess”…so appropriate.😉

I think we get so down on ourselves sometimes, as if God doesn’t already know how messy we can get.

Like He’s up there thinking, Goodness, I was not expecting this from her today. 😂

Meanwhile, He knows me.

Oh, He knows I can go from “Lord, I trust You” to mentally rehearsing seventeen different disasters before I’ve finished my coffee. He’s heard the prayers where I’ve been calm and full of faith,and He’s heard the ones where I’ve cried, rambled, complained, got a little cranky and eventually run out of words altogether.

Some prayers have genuinely just been, “Jesus… please.”

And you know what? I’m starting to think we put far more pressure on ourselves to pray properly than God ever did.

He already knows what’s underneath the words. He knows the fear hiding behind the frustration, the grief underneath the anger, and exactly what I mean when all I can manage is a sigh and His name.

Romans 8:26 even tells us that when we don’t know what to pray,the Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Wordless groans.

Well, for me that’s reassuring.

Turns out God isn’t intimidated by the unfiltered version of me. I don’t have to clean up my thoughts or get them in order before I bring them to Him.

He’s heard it all.

And goodness, He sure is fluent in my wildness. For that, I’m truly grateful.

“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”-Romans 8:26

- Little Sparrow Loved

littlesparrowloved.com

Health issues 😮‍💨in the past few weeks brought my husband, Gary, & me to a place where we knew we had to cancel our trip to Ireland 🇮🇪 ✈️…again (2nd cancellation in 13 months).😥 We were supposed to leave tomorrow afternoon for 10 days. By God’s grace, good travel insurance, & a doctor’s note, we got everything refunded…a blessing.
If you want details, read further. If not, we ask for your prayers for wisdom for our doctors to do tests & prescribe meds needed for treatment & healing.❤️‍🩹🙏🏻

Gary has been experiencing increasing fatigue & moving body pain for the past 2 months. The good news is that Gary is STILL IN REMISSION!🙌🏻 A PET scan indicated he might have a lung infection, but that’s been ruled out by his pulmonologist. He’s waiting to hear what thoughts and/or tests his cancer team or P*P are considering.

Jackie developed sudden, severe migraine-like headaches & pressure for 3 days in early August & ended up at the ER to make sure there was no stroke/brain bleed/mass. CT scan negative. I saw my Lyme doctor 2 days later & she believed one or more of my tickborne diseases were activated & put me on an antibiotic & several supplements, which greatly relieved the head pain & inflammation. Since last Saturday, I’ve had fatigue, weakness, & some insomnia. Test results confirmed that I’m positive for Babesia, 2 strains of Bartonella, & Lyme. So treatment begins this week, adding one med/herbal at a time to see if I tolerate it.

God directed our path through strange symptoms before, gave wisdom to our practitioners & brought healing to us & we KNOW He will do it again. Please pray for strength & perseverance until that comes & a clear cause for Gary’s symptoms. 🙏🏻💚✝️💖

It hasn’t happened often, but often, yes, grief is behind it. With chronic illness & pain, it’s often “ambiguous loss”: a type of loss without clear boundaries or closure. This often looks like being physically present but grieving the loss of your past self, identity, or physical certainty.

Sometimes anger is guarding a deeper ache. When we become still enough to listen without shame, we may discover grief asking to be acknowledged and cared for.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18

Make a little room for honest reflection with the free weekly devotional available through the link in bio.

FREE 21-day online program to help you figure out what to focus on next.

If you’re dealing with chronic illness, one of the hardest parts can be figuring out what to focus on next.

Lyme. Co-infections. Mold. MCAS. Dysautonomia. Long COVID. Fatigue. Pain. Nervous system symptoms. Lupus.

There can be so many moving pieces that it becomes really easy to feel like you’re constantly chasing the next symptom.

Starting 9/8, you can join a FREE 21-day online program called “Cellular Healing Bootcamp” from Dr. Bill Rawls. Dr. Rawls was debilitated by Lyme disease and eventually found the herbals & tinctures that brought healing. There’s a kickoff on 9/2.

The program is organized around three areas:
CALM​: Support nervous system regulation and reduce cellular stress.

DETOXIFY​: Reduce toxic burden and support gut and immune balance.

RESTORE​: Build cellular resilience through herbs, nutrition and lifestyle.

You do not have to keep up perfectly.
The lessons are intentionally short, and the program is designed so you can catch up, skip something or move through the material at your own pace.

Cellular Healing Bootcamp 2026 Cellular Healing Bootcamp 2026

So grateful God IS bigger than my Lyme disease and endometrial pelvic pain! Even though my Lyme is in remission, I’ve been having some difficult days.