It was some time ago when I wrote the below article, ‘Staying True To Yourself’. This coming June I will have been a non-smoker for four years Praise God and since writing that article I have beaten fibromyalgia and other illnesses glory be to God. I can now eat some of the foods that were on my no no list in moderation without any adverse side effects. I have very little irritable bowel. My memory has improved tremendously. And I am able to do things that I didn’t think would be possible for me. By trusting in God and persevering to do his will and to do what is right for me I have overcome so much. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and we are made strong when we are weak and he does set us free. His grace is sufficient for all and when we ask him to cover us with his grace to prevent us from committing some sin that is trying to enter our lives he is true to cover us with his grace and strengthen us. Sometimes the hardest things that we have to face in life turns out to be the most rewarding not only in diet and health but mentally, emotionally, spiritually and in relationships as well as well. My God is my sufficiency in everything and he helps me through all the hard times. He has never let me down. Sometimes I need to learn that what I want isn’t always the same as what he knows is best or right for me. God always knows best. By staying true to praying often throughout the day, staying in fellowship with him, seeking guidance and following the prodding of the Holy Spirit, and studying the Holy Bible I am better able to make the right choices for myself. It doesn’t matter how minute our question, if we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit we will never be let down or led astray. Often we try to follow media, peers, group studies, and medical news but the truth is always hidden in Gods word and waiting to be revealed. When we go to God in prayer and talk to him, telling him our hearts desire, he is true to lead us and guide us. Often all we need to feel God is to get quiet and still. May God bless you on your life’s journey. If you dedicate your life to him ..I know he will.
Since I was a teenager I have had problems with gastritis, spastic colon, irritable bowel; diarrhea, constipation, abdominal swelling and bloating, and abdominal pain. In the past few years I have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, high acidity level, polyps, irritated stomach and esophagus, Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, obstructive sleep apnea, GERD, mitro-valve prolapse, hypertension, bursitis, hypoglycemia arthritis and then undiagnosed with arthritis. Most illnesses have been passed down from generation to generation.
I have read different articles on yoga, gluten, chemicals added to food, sugar, artificial sweeteners and studies done on the diseases and illnesses that I have been diagnosed with. I have been doing yoga for six years. My balance has improved tremendously as has my inner core strength. I enjoy the benefits of breathing exercises, meditation and as always I daily pray and sing praises to God. I am still amazed at how helpful and healing yoga is. I also like reflexology. It may hurt at the time that I am messaging my feet but I experience really good results the following day. Praise God I have been completely healed from mitro-valve prolapse which got extremely bad before I was healed.
I have struggled with my diet, smoking and alcohol because to me eating was one of life’s simplest pleasures I loved to cook and bake and eat a variety of tasty foods. And I wanted my food cooked a certain way. Being from the south I like the fat meat seasoning or bacon drippings seasoning and fried foods. Not to mention the sweet tea that I could drink a pitcher of a day along with several sundrops. And then I dealt with pain and stiffness and inability to sleep. I used alcohol to cope. Alcohol was my muscle relaxer, pain medication and sleep aid in a can. And it would actually ease off my stomach. I don’t know if it was because it flushed my kidneys or because it reduced the acid in my stomach. Now that’s in moderation. Anything over that didn’t help much and worsened some symptoms.
I struggled with smoking for many years. I would quit and start back. I prayed to quit and still started back. I smoked to calm my nerves, to calm my stomach, to relax, to suppress hunger and even to time what I was cooking. I liked to smoke. Anything more than that and it would irritate my stomach and make me nauseated. I finally decided that I did not want to smoke and asked God to take the desire to smoke away from me and to not allow me to suffer withdraw. Praise God. He took the desire to smoke away from me and I haven’t had the desire to smoke since then. That was two and a half years ago.
I quit eating fried, greasy foods. I went gluten free but would eat food with gluten in it one day a week. It takes gluten seven days to get out of your diet so I kept myself on a roller coaster ride with the effects of gluten on my body. I limited shellfish. I cut back to a half pack of cigarette a day. I limited soda and sweet tea. I saw a little improvement but not as much as I needed to function at the level that I wanted to function.
I am now completely gluten free. I don’t eat shellfish. I quit smoking. I quit drinking. I lost weight. I eat every three hours; I avoid beverages, foods and gum that are artificially sweetened. I limit my intake of tomatoes, onions, chocolate and peppermint. I continue to do yoga, reflexology, breathing exercises, meditation exercises, and I pray and sing praises to God every day. Now I only take a mild muscle relaxer at bedtime, a low dose thyroid medication, and I take eight hour Tylenol or Motrin for pain. And I don’t need pain medication every day. Praise the Lord. And where I was getting cortisone shots quiet often in every joint on the left side of my body as well as my neck and lower back I haven’t taken any cortisone shots since last spring. Praise God. He is great.
I was a complete mess. One time I got so sick and in such a dilapidated state that I had to start being active and resting in five minute intervals and increasing activity by one to two minutes over a period of time. The pain was unbearable. The tiredness was agonizing. Praise be to God, now I have entire days that I stay active. I have days that I can go all day without a nap and still function. Praise God I have learned self-control by controlling what I eat and drink to improve my health, lower my pain level and avoid brain fog. And since I have been on a controlled diet I feel even closer to God. I have changed mindsets that kept me in a rut. I have changed habits that hurt me and kept me sick. Praise be to God for helping me to change. When we are anointed with the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit teaches us and guides us. I learned what I needed to learn and I changed due to the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit. Follow your heart. Listen to that small voice. Go with your gut. Whatever you call it, pay attention. Change to be a better person mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally and psychologically. Sometimes we have to change mindsets and habits to follow God’s will to be healed. If God healed our finger every time we stuck it in a fan we wouldn’t learn anything. When we learn to stop sticking our finger in the fan is when we stop needing for our finger to be healed.
Praise God I am free from the bondage of wrong thinking. I praise God for healing me. Praise God I no longer want the foods, beverages or habit that make me sick. To God’s glory I no longer drink sweet tea or sodas. Praise God now I do more of what he has always put on my heart to do and that is write to share God’s love and God’s word. God bless you and may you follow the Holy Spirit to a place where you are no longer in pain, no longer sick, no longer suffering every day.
