Tag: Prayers

LIFE’S ROADBLOCKS

Published on by Aimee Eddy2 Comments

“Give it to God and all your anxiety and stress will ease,” they tell me. I lie in my bed at night praying really hard for my worries to ease, my inner pain to go away, and for strength, but I feel no better. Is it because I’m not a good Christian, am I not praying the right way, or have I lost my connection with God? With mental illness it’s very hard to just let go of stress and anxiety, especially when life is putting up so many roadblocks. Praying doesn’t just take away my racing thoughts, anguish, tense muscles, and upset stomach. My mind won’t stop.

Life has been a challenge for a couple years since my husband’s workplace started remodeling. I held on to the hope that once the remodeling was done, he would be back to his full-time hours, and we would be on our feet again. Then when the remodeling ended, my husband got his hours back for a short time, but suddenly they cut him down to two days a week. He got unemployment, but not enough to pay all our bills. I told my boss to take me off express register and go to regular register, despite scoliosis and screws in my back so I could get more hours. We emptied our Christmas funds to pay some bills, and we still could not pay them all.

We started searching for jobs. We put in application after application only to hear nothing back. When my husband followed up, they told him they were still looking over applications. My husband felt hopeless, my anxiety heightened, and my stress levels went high. We started going to the food bank because we could only get twenty-three dollars in food stamps.

Then suddenly he got a phone interview with a department store. It was the answer to our prayers. He would only be making forty-eight cents less than his current job. We agreed he would still work two days a week at the current job until he got health insurance at the new job. We were excited. Finally, we would get back on our feet. Then suddenly his job of thirty-four years laid him off permanently, leaving him without insurance. Then after working a week and two days at the new job, he and six other new employees were laid off permanently. Suddenly my husband was jobless.

I was at work when my husband told me he lost his second job. I fell apart and had to sit in the manager’s office bawling my eyes out for almost an hour. The coordinator offered me words of encouragement until I was able to calm down. My world crumbled before my eyes. Our hopes were wiped away with one swipe. My worst fear of going broke and losing everything we owned seemed like it was coming true. Will we have to file for bankruptcy? Will we have to move in with my parents until we can get back on our feet? How could we find my husband another job? The worries ripped at my insides and flooded my mind.

My husband has an appointment for a very important test on November thirteen. We have waited for months for this test, but he now has no insurance. How could we pay for the test? So, I called and found out the cost of the test and started a GoFundMe. I raised more than enough for the test, but what if he needs further treatment? I filed for Medicaid for him, and all we can do now is pray he gets it.

My friend told me to give my stress and worries to God and I would feel better. I prayed and prayed for God to give me some peace, but the racing thoughts and endless worries continued. Some days I feel like the air is being squeezed from my lungs. My husband has been struggling to sleep and feeling down. It’s up to me to keep his spirits up, but my insides feel like I’m going to fall to pieces. Life’s roadblocks keep getting bigger and bigger and I can’t see around them.

I asked God, “Why are you not helping us?” “Why are you not easing my anxiety, stress, and worrying?” “Why are you not giving me peace? Is it because I don’t know how to give it to you?”  “Why are you letting all these bad things happen to us?” I stood at the edge of the hole of depression barely able to hold on waiting for an answer from God.

My parents gave us a bunch of coins to turn in for money, people donated so Lou could have his test, and a friend sent us a gift card for a grocery store. My mom also told me about a program that can help us pay an overdue bill, and we’re waiting for the application to apply for it. God has been giving us help to ease some of our burdens, and he’s been carrying us through. I was just too caught up in my emotions to see what God has been doing.

I realized it was my turn to do the work to control my worrying, stress, and anxiety. So, I journal out my worries and feelings, I turn to my support system, and I praise God for the signs that he is working in our lives to get us through this rough time.

God works in mysterious ways to get us through the roadblocks in our lives. Open your eyes to the things that happen in your life that are God’s way of helping you. It might not be as simple as God magically shutting off those racing thoughts and bad feelings, but it could be things put in your life to show you how to find peace. God will get you through life’s roadblocks, but you also must do some work to keep yourself from falling down the hole or falling deeper. Use your coping techniques to deal and let God carry you through.

I know now God is showing me I have nothing to worry about and stress about. He’s giving me the help I need to stay strong during this roadblock in my life. God is holding me in the light of recovery.

THE JOURNEY TO RECOVERY

Published on by Aimee EddyLeave a comment

After spending six days on a ventilator and spending what seemed like forever in ICU, my dad continues his  long journey to recovery. After ICU he spent a couple days in a regular room before transferring to rehab. While in a regular room, a man from rehab came to talk to my dad about the next steps. My dad told the man he would do whatever it takes to get better. Dad is a determined man.

They moved him to a different part of the hospital for rehab. We had to follow a purple line to an elevator and take it to the second floor. We had to walk through a maze of hallways to find his room. At first my husband and I got confused and had to ask for help. When we finally reached Dad, instead of lying in a bed in a hospital gown, he sat in a chair wearing a shirt and shorts. His legs, ankles, and feet were swollen from fluid buildup. The beautiful part was there was no more IVs stuck in his arms, machines going off, and a tube going out of his mouth. He looked run down and weak, yet more like himself.

The sadness, the crying spells, and emotional exhaustion I felt while he was in the ICU were gone. In their place were hope and gratefulness. God gave my dad a second chance, he gave my family more time with him, and my heart was overflowing with thankfulness. Just hearing his voice was and is magical.

Each time I visited, my dad looked stronger and more determined. We sat in his room almost every day and talked about what he did in therapy. Physical therapy happened two times a day. When he arrived in rehab, he was too weak to walk, to dress himself, or get up without help. In therapy they had him do exercises to build up his muscles and slowly eased him into walking with a walker. After his sessions, he fought to keep his eyes open. We would sit in the lounge so he could take naps.

Each time we came to visit, his pale cheeks got more color in them, he became less tired, and more talkative. One day my husband came when Dad was being taken down for therapy. We were allowed to sit in chairs off to the side and watch the therapist direct him to do exercises. He had my dad walk around the room with a walker, go up and down stairs, and do stretches. Then he went to an occupational therapist who worked with him on practicing to get on a bed raised the same height as my parent’s bed at home. Dad also practiced getting into a car and other things he would need to do at home.

The therapist said, “You’re doing great. You’re doing everything with little help from me.”

I realized I got my determination to overcome obstacles from my dad. Seeing him each day grow stronger and push harder towards recovery reminded me of all the obstacles I pushed through. I never let anything stop me from reaching my goals. I pushed to rise above bullying, I fought mental illness to reach recovery, I stood up to beat breast cancer, and I recovered from several surgeries. I got all that fire to fight from my dad. Like I have fought in the past I watched my father fight to get strong enough to go home.

Each night I posted updates on Facebook asking for prayers. I even shared my dad’s journey with my customers and many of them said they were putting him on their churches pray chain or they would pray for him. At night my friend Amy called for updates on my dad and to share with me she had people praying for him. Each time I visited my dad, I saw the prayers being answered.

I texted my friend Cheryl about Dad and the progress he was making. She texted me, “If this had happened to your dad several years ago, you would have fallen to pieces, but you have handled your dad getting sick very well. I’m so proud of you.”

She’s right. If my dad had been put on a ventilator before I reached recovery, I would have injured, felt suicidal and maybe even needed to be admitted to a mental health hospital, but now I used coping techniques and my support system to make it through without becoming an emotional wreck.

As you’re reading this, my dad will be leaving rehab and returning home to be with my mom. He must use a walker or a cane, but I have faith that in time he will be back to going for long walks, working on airplanes, flying his own private plane, and working in the vineyard he and my mom own. In the meantime, I will visit them often and help them as much as I can. My parents took care of me my whole life and believed in me when no one else did, and now it’s my turn to be there for them.

Have faith in yourself while you’re in recovery. When times get tough, use coping techniques and your support system to make it through. Take each day as it comes and be proud of each accomplishment you make. Let your determination keep you in the light of recovery.

My dad still has a long journey ahead of him, and I know I’m strong enough to be at his side supporting him. I inherited my dad’s determination and that is what keeps me bathing in the light of recovery.