Trusting In God Through The Storms Of Life

Trusting in God Through the Storms of Life

I don’t know what to call this post really, but I have been gone off of here for a hot minute due to some health issues that have flared up this past month.

Earlier in January my asthma started to flare up and I wasn’t sure what was happening. I’ve had asthma attacks before but nothing like this EVER. Which has caused me to have to take a backseat for a little while on my writing, my reading, and occasionally for work too.  

In hindsight cleaning up after a fire extinguisher as someone with asthma probably wasn’t my brightest idea that I’ve had. However this season has taught me to have a lot of trust in God as my life is kinda in an uproar that’s all I can rely on. When it was first starting to get bad I was bedridden for a lil while; I would go to work and I’d be so exhausted by the end of the day that I would quite literally be asleep for almost more than 12 hrs which is very abnormal for me. I did tela-health visits with my doctor where I ended up on several medications. But those medications didn’t help, so after a recruiting trip I was on I got back to the coast from the valley and immediately drove to the urgent care where I was given more medications with a strict regimen in order to try and curb this asthma flare up.

There were multiple times I would be up all night coughing and wheezing so bad that it hurt, and multiple times I scared many people around me because I’d start coughing and wouldn’t be able to breathe. Which granted seeing someone like that is terrifying and it’s definitely hard to watch, but being the one not being able to breathe is by far scarier. In those moments all I could do is pray to God to fill my lungs with air and to trust what he has planned; which became very comforting to me. As I am still fighting this flare up and will definitely have to see more doctors about it to try and get a daily medication to help keep it in check, but throughout it I know God will keep me in his grace and I know he wouldn’t give me anything that I can’t handle. So I know I can handle this because God strengthens me and holds me up when I can’t hold myself up.

What is also hard for me as I walk through this is being away from my family. As I am 1,800 miles away from home it’s hard to go through these kind of things without the built-in support of your family. I also experienced being on the other side of that because before my health issues my wonderful mother ended up spending multiple days in the hospital with a heart arrhythmia. 

I was on my way to a young adults retreat at another camp up in Washington when I spent multiple hours on the phone with her while she waited for my brother to get off work to take her to the ER. She is okay now, but not being able to do anything is probably one of the hardest things I experienced. I called so many people back home who I knew would help at that time. We have had so many people surrounding us in prayer through everything and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. When I couldn’t be there to be there and be strong for my brother and mom our people were instead and surrounded us. It was amazing to see and I will be forever grateful for all of them. 

I remember calling my dad in tears asking for advice on whether I should even go to the retreat because what if I have to get on a plane and fly home. But as I questioned everything my dad and friends continued encouraging me to go. And I am so glad I did. I met some amazing God loving young adults and people I had never met were there for me, prayed with me/ for me, and worshiped with me as I sobbed because I couldn’t fathom why any of it could be happening.

During that retreat the speaker CJ Coffee (from The Well Community Church) spoke about the book of Ruth that weekend which as we studied it and he broke it down, and we discussed in our small groups. It brought me peace to see everything that Ruth and Naomi went through because they went through so much together and Ruth never left Naomi through it all. Which helped comfort me as I felt like I was helpless, and still encourages me through my own health issues. 

And I am no stranger to health issues and trying to get a doctor to help me and figure out what is going on. It’s definitely a different experience this time especially when I am so far and my family isn't here. But my co-workers and friends have been such a blessing to me and my family through this time. As they check on me and make sure I am taking care of my health and myself.

Most of the time my health issues are with my joints or something like that, but it being my lungs is such a different experience and has definitely been making me trust God more than I ever have before. And don’t get me wrong, before all of this I had a strong relationship with God, but this has made me put so much more trust in him and I am so extremely grateful for that. Although I may be in a weird season I know he is there and won’t abandon me as I walk through this with my savior by my side.

Sorry that this was so chaotic, but that’s the kind of person I am and kind of what this blog is set up for me to do, talk about all my chaotic thoughts and such. So thank you for reading. It means alot to me!

-Stephanie <3