Are you tired of feeling sick and tired? This is exactly how I felt almost two years ago. I had a myriad of symptoms that I kind of ignored or attributed to various things, but the main thing that plagued me was I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.
My energy would completely bottom out. Feeling like I was running on fumes, it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to function. I was frustrated, worn out, and many times tearful. I felt like a failure because I didn’t have the energy to take care of or spend time with my family.
After a while I had an avalanche of symptoms that were plaguing me. They didn’t always occur at the same time, but many times they did. I kept telling myself and everyone else, “It’s nothing–I’m just tired”.
How about you? Do you have any of the following symptoms:
- Fatigue
- Joint pain and swelling
- Skin problems like chronic dry skin, eczema, or psoriasis
- Abdominal pain or digestive issues
- Recurring fever or conversely low grade temperature
- Swollen glands
- Loss of hair
- Loss of concentration, focus, and/or memory
- Numbness of hands and/or feet
- Migraines
- Rapid heart rate
- Food intolerances and/or allergies
- Frozen joints
- TMJ
- Dizziness
- Anxiety/Uneasiness
- Depression
- Hormone imbalance
- Chills
- Ear ringing
- Sudden illnesses in major body systems like thyroid, heart, endocrine, connective tissue, brain, liver, circulatory system
- Lack of focus/foggy brain
Unfortunately, I had almost all of these symptoms on a regular basis. Sometimes they all hit me at one time. My family physician’s office expected me to take a pill for each of the symptoms. I suppose I could have blindly followed, like most of us have done at one time or another.
I could have just chalked it up to being a busy mommy of four or hormones or even getting older (not that I would want to admit I’m getting older). I could have come up with one hundred different explanations for why I was exhausted all of the time, and I sometimes did. It is so much easier to just make up excuses rather than admit that something more serious might be the cause or that all of these symptoms may be connected, or that I might be partially responsible for the way I was feeling.
No one wants to go to the doctor, take medicines, or make changes in their lifestyle, so we basically live in denial. We have to admit that just because we have a certain predisposition that “runs in our family” or just because we lead busy lives doesn’t mean we should be sick and exhausted. We can get by with this thinking for a while, but at some point it is all going to overflow and we will have to acknowledge something more is going on.
For me, I just couldn’t bring myself to take a different drug for each problem I was having. One thing I knew for sure was that I am susceptible to medicine side effects–I have never been able to take many medicines.
I also knew enough to know most drugs are not prescribed for healing, but simply to help you function with the ailment. They totally ignore the problem and mask it. The problem is still there! I’m a mom which means my family is counting on me. I can’t put a bandage on a problem and have it rear it’s ugly head in a worse scenario later. I don’t have time for that, and my family deserves better.
I wanted to get to the bottom of it, because I didn’t want to take a shoe box full of medicines at age 50 like my grandparents did. Setting an example of good health is one of my responsibilities as a parent, especially given the fact that most illnesses are hereditary. I don’t want my children or grandchildren to be plagued with this.
As I was praying one day, begging for strength to get me through the day, holding back the tears, about to rush on to the next task, I felt the Lord lifting up my chin and reminding me that I wasn’t living the abundant life He wanted for me. He had been speaking to me for quite a while about different choices I was making, but I had been too busy and admittedly too selfish to listen.
Sick and tired of being sick and tired is the only way I can describe the emotion I was feeling. Every single thing I struggled to do or was incapable of doing was caught in the web of whatever was plaguing me. Fed up, I finally decided to do something about it.
You’ve probably read about the battle I’ve fought with conventional doctors and medicine, my own stubbornness, and the ways of society as a whole, but if you’re new here you can read my initial post about fighting my health battle here and the two subsequent updates here and here.
Knowledge is power so I voraciously gathered as much information as I possibly could, and I’ve made it my mission to learn more about health and wellness every day. Researching and gleaning from multiple reputable sources, I have been determined to discover why we are so sick and tired.
Finally visiting a local medical doctor who specializes in holistic medicine was the very best decision I have made where my health is concerned. She has taught me why previous conventional tests were wrong. I’ve learned why going back to the basics of how God created our bodies is the way to diagnose and treat any illness.
God created our bodies. He has directives in His Word that guide us in keeping our bodies healthy. Unfortunately, the fall of man and society have caused us to drift from the health God intended. I know our bodies are not meant to last forever, but they are made to literally be the hands and feet of Jesus, and the hands and feet of Jesus were meant to serve not suffer. The enemy would like nothing better than to hold us back from serving God and others.
Did you know that the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association estimates over 50 million Americans suffer from autoimmune disease? Did you know that all of the symptoms I listed above are related to autoimmune diseases? I bet you didn’t know you can prevent and/or reverse autoimmune disease simply by making good choices.
You’re probably thinking about the fact that you haven’t been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease or better yet you know you don’t have one. (That’s what I said too.) That may be the case, and I sure hope for your sake you don’t. However, the statistics are staggering. One in every six Americans has autoimmune disease.
Even if you don’t want to listen to statistics, just look at your own little world. We all have loved ones suffering from cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and more. It’s foolish to believe that we personally do not have the genetics or predisposition for these illnesses. Are you going to throw your hands up in the air and succumb to the pathetic “I’m going to die of something someday” attitude and give up, or are you going to live a life of gratitude to The Lord, one of health that will help you serve Him and those He puts in your path?
Common illnesses we are fighting these days are part of a fallen world, but they are not inevitable. Succumbing to these diseases is not what Our Father intended. This is not the abundant life He wants for us. How can we serve Him with our utmost when we ultimately give up control of our spirits, minds, bodies, and health to illnesses caused by the decisions and whims of ourselves and society around us?
I am a warrior. God’s Word says He has equipped all of His children to be warriors: “You’ve placed your armor upon me and defeated my enemies, making them bow low at my feet.” Psalm 18:39.
I am determined not to take this lying down. I don’t want anyone to feel sick and tired of being sick and tired, exhausted, and completely depleted in strength and spirit. I don’t want this for my children or future generations. I am going to do whatever it takes turn this around.
It’s not just about me and what I need or want to do. It’s about allowing God to use everything I have gone through to make a difference for others and future generations.
How about you? Are you sick and tired of feeling sick and tired?
What are you willing to do? What will you sacrifice to help God heal you or prevent disease within you? Will you allow Him to use your situation to save others from the same suffering?
It is easier said than done–I understand completely. Just getting out of bed and going through the day wears you completely out. Your schedule is completely full. How are you possibly going to have the time, energy or mindset to make changes in your life?
Change takes discipline and time. You’re probably going to say you’ll get to it one day. You’ll make a change when you have more time. Maybe you don’t feel all that bad right now, and you’d rather wait until you are ill to make healthy lifestyle changes. Maybe you know you can’t do it in your own strength, but God never asked you to–He is your strength.
Maybe you are the pillar of health–it’s very possible, and if so I am praising Our Father for the health with which He has blessed you! You can be an encourager for those around you who are struggling with feeling sick and tired. We need the support of our friends and family to cheer us on. You can educate and train your children to make better choices for their health and the well being of future generations.
I will be praying for all of us over the next week. I know we all struggle with at least one of the above symptoms, but I’m sure as busy women we struggle with many more. Please take time this week to slow down and recognize any symptoms you may be having, recall some you have experienced over time, and make a quick note of them. Recall if your parents struggled with the same ailments.
I will be issuing a series of challenges for us in future weeks. I’d like you to begin praying now, asking The Lord how you can serve Him better. Discern whether He is leading you to make changes or to investigate some of these symptoms that have been plaguing you. Determine where these symptoms are affecting your life and the life of our family.
So many aspects of our lives as women are connected, and when one aspect gets off kilter we begin to lose our balance and our peace in other areas as well. That’s where I come in–my calling is to encourage and assist you on your journey, helping you balance all of your responsibilities and crowns you wear.
If you haven’t downloaded our FREE Finding Balance Devotional, please do so here. This is just another resource you can use on this journey. Feel free to browse all of the tabs above for information, freebies, and resources to help you as you collect rubies for all of those crowns. Blessings and prayers to you, sweet friends!