‘I live with lupus,’ the lady said, ‘and when I saw in your author bio that you live with lupus too, I told myself I simply had to meet you!’ ‘I’m so thrilled to meet a fellow lupie!’ I laughed. Lupus is a rare condition and I often feel a bit alone and lost in […]
hope
Myths of Singledom
I met my husband later in life: I was twenty-nine. OK, that may not sound like a ‘late’ marriage, but in my church circles everyone was married by the ripe old age of twenty-one. At twenty-nine, I was considered practically retired. Or a leper. During those years of singledom, I encountered some interesting myths and […]
Survival Skills: Grace in the Flames
Three years ago I became disabled by illness. I don’t know whether it was lupus or not; the illness was never diagnosed. But it was a doozy of a flare-up and I was off work for about six months. During that time, I was virtually house-bound, going out only for medical appointments. I had to […]
Survival Skills: Scriptures for Illness
‘Doubled up with pain, I call to God All the day long. No answer. Nothing. I keep at it all night, tossing and turning… I’m a bucket kicked over and spilled, Every joint in my body has been pulled apart. My heart is a blob Of melted wax in my gut. I’m dry as a […]
Survival Skills: Grieving Spaces
I woke up with a niggle in my chest. It’s fine, I told myself. I took pain killers anyway. They I laid down to rest, but the pain became rapidly worse. So I got up, sat on the couch, and began praying that the pain killers would kick in really soon. Twenty minutes later I […]
Survival Skills: Laugh
‘I don’t know how you cope with your chronic illness,’ remarked my doctor. ‘You seem to bear it so well.’ I laughed. ‘Maybe I should come in and show you what I’m like on a bad day!’ As good as my doctors are, laughter can be even better medicine. I have a pretty impressive repertoire […]
Books, Koorong, and Pain…And Thankfulness
As I write this final blog for the year, it seems fitting to give thanks for everything that has happened in 2024. Even though 2024 has possibly been one of the worst years of my life. Chronic illness ran away from me this year. I have been sick almost non stop. I won’t go into […]
Surviving Chronic Illness Has Arrived!
‘I’m think about writing another book,’ I said to my friend. We’d just been shopping and we were walking along the platform of the train station, talking about my second book which had just been published. ‘I’m feeling the itch to start my third book. It seems I can’t stop writing!’ I laughed. ‘Any idea […]
I Feel Seen…Or A Shameless Promo for World Childless Week
It can be hard to feel seen. In today’s online world, where our opinions and values are often reduced to brief social media posts or twenty-second soundbites, the risk of being misunderstood and openly criticised is real. Even in Zoom-based interactions, it can be challenging to read facial expressions and body language accurately. We can […]
Is Singledom A ‘Season’?
‘Don’t worry, your singleness is just for a season,’ my friend reassured me. ‘Why don’t you use this season to work on yourself?’ Ugh. There is so much in these two seemingly innocuous sentences that irks me. Beyond the misconception that once you work on yourself the right partner will magically appear, summoned by your […]