I thank God for Lyme’s Disease. Honestly, it’s miserable. Pain is my way of life. Everyday tasks, that most people don’t think about, are hard for me. Exhaustion is normal. And that’s not the half of it. BUT GOD is teaching me so much, and He has put it on my heart to share some of those things with you. Maybe you can learn something by witnessing my struggles, and be encouraged by God’s faithfulness to me. Even if nobody ever reads these testimonies, I feel compelled to write them – if only to reflect His glory into the silence.

One of the most life-altering, world-upside-down lessons I am still learning, is thankfulness in suffering. I must thank God for Lyme’s Disease. I wouldn’t have chosen it. I still pray for healing. But, although it’s sometimes through tears and always with a heavy heart, often only in a whisper, I thank Him. Now, I’m sure I may sound like I’m trying to be a martyr or a super-spiritual Christian or perhaps I just sound crazy. But I don’t mean to be a martyr, and I certainly don’t think I’m super-spiritual. I may be on the crazy side, but before you decide, let me explain what I mean.

I believe that it is our purpose and incredible privilege to know the Lord personally and deeply, and to testify to His glory. Because God designed us for this specific purpose, we need and crave relationship with Him. In fellowship with Him we can know incomparable joy and peace. In a real and growing relationship with Him we will find identity and purpose, and in living out His plan for us we will find fulfillment and satisfaction. These things can be found nowhere else, but in Jesus. WOW – don’t miss this – take a minute just to think about the mind-blowing words that you just read. We have an all-expense paid, never expires, full access pass to fellowship with the Creator of the Universe. Yeah, go ahead and read it again. It’s ah-mazing.

I don’t think there are many things that cause us to go to the Lord more than suffering. It’s sad but it’s true – in our human foolishness, we often need hardship to remind us just how much we always need God’s strength. I know I have personally learned so very much about His sufficiency in my struggles with illness.

So, think about this with me – if it takes temporary sickness and pain – no matter how miserable it may be – to make us understand more of our need for Jesus… If because of pain we could begin to learn to stop flailing helplessly through life, let go of our failing strength and the facade of any self-sufficiency, and let Him wrap us each in His arms and show us what it means to rest in His strength then isn’t suffering a blessing? Wouldn’t it be better to endure physical pain, and get even a glimpse of the joy and peace that defy comprehension, than to be the picture of health and never get that same chance to experience the loving comfort of our heavenly Father in a way that it can only be experienced through suffering? I believe it’s more than worth the pain. So, I thank God for Lyme’s Disease. And I mean it.

Because of His faithfulness,

Carissa Kerstetter