Do you ever wonder how you got to the point in life where living with a chronic illness is commonplace? Do you wonder how you got to the point where caring for someone with a chronic illness has become routine? When I was a child I imagined all kinds of things. I imagined what life would look like when I grew up. I imagined all of the exotic places I would travel to; all of the interesting people I would meet; all of the lives I would change. I imagined all of the people I would tell about Jesus. I imagined the house I would have, the husband I would have, the children I would have. In essence I imagined life in all of its fullness! Not once did I imagine illness. Never did I imagine chronic, life shattering pain.
Sometimes I feel like I have been exiled from the world. Do you ever feel like that? Living with a chronic illness or caring for someone with a chronic illness, or an elderly parent, can be lonely. It is easy to feel, and be, isolated. We miss so many events and activities that when we are able to attend something it is easy to feel like an outsider or a stranger, even at church or family gatherings! At the end of Ephesians chapter two Paul explains to the people of Ephesus that because they believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection, they are now part of His Kingdom. They, as Gentiles, belong in His Kingdom just as much as the Jews. Read for yourself: