Chronic Illness

<p>Good morning, Five Minute Families! Did you know that the Partnership for Solutions at Johns Hopkins back in 2004 pointed out that more than 130 million Americans suffer from a chronic health condition? That means with a population of 330 million, almost every family in American has someone who faces chronic medical issues. Thankfully, some of those households don’t have as heavy of an impact as others. Yet, still, many families struggle with how to handle the effect that a chronic health condition has not only one their loved one but one the entire household. </p><p>Dealing with chronic medical issues that sway our daily lives means learning to manage our relationships as much (if not more than) we manage the illness itself. The chronic sufferer needs compassion, kindness, and gentleness, but the family, too, needs to learn how to do that AND how to remind their loved one that he or she is NOT a problem - that they are loved - uniquely, and that we all have to figure out how to deal with the fallenness of this world and its influence on our bodies. </p><p>The chronic sufferer may feel like David in Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” Some days may be full of groaning. Be careful, loving family member, not to let them fall into a trap of complaining but also understand that their sharing their daily burden and pains may not be coming from a spirit of complaining. Lots of prayer and patience is needed here.</p><p>For those of you who may not know, we have three children who suffer from chronic illnesses. The burden that falls on the rest of the family to pick up the household chores’ slack, to adjust in a moment’s notice, and more, can seem overwhelming at first. We had always tried to practice honest and open communication in our home, but that became even more vitally important as we had to figure out how to reallocate time, money, and efforts into our children’s medical needs. God has been infinitely merciful, bring