HOPE MIDWEEK STUDY

RAISING A CHRONICALLY ILL CHILD

by Kim Dillhoff

June 6, 2007

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” --Romans 8:28

If you are a young mother who is chronically ill and are raising a chronically ill child, it is sometimes very hard, if not impossible to believe that Romans 8:28 is true. I know, because I am chronically ill and I have been raising a chronically ill child for the last 8 years.

I want to offer you some encouragement. I want you to know that God loves you and that with Jesus Christ you can do this. You can, not only, get through, but gain a new understanding of God’s Love and Mercy and Hope. If you will let Him guide you, along the way.

You have a heavy burden… this is your mission field. In many ways your journey is a lot like being in a foreign land. You have to learn medical jargon, the chronic illness culture and what is expected of you. All in all, I had to learn that the only one I had to answer to was God. I hope to be writing some articles that, not only offer encouragement, but some insight and some lessons that I have learned along the way. We will, also, learn together. My daughter, is only in the beginning of her teen years, and so, I have many lessons, yet, to learn.

I will be using some of Shoshana’s Sunday Messages for reference. I am beginning with Why? Because all Things Working Together http://www.hopeontheinside.org/SUNDAYSERVICE%20why-allthings.html .

Our lives with chronic illness often make us ask “Why?”. However, I never have to do so much soul searching as to what I really believe about God, His sovereignty, His Love, and His Mercy, His Hope, when it comes to watching my child suffer with pain and fatigue. I can justify my own pain in this world, but my child’s…that is very difficult.

I want you to know that you are not alone. You have the Bible to read, God to pray to, Jesus as your example and counselor and the Holy Spirit to guide you. You are, also, not alone in this world. It feels like it, sometimes, I know. I have felt alone, so many times.

What I know for sure, is that when I turned to Jesus, I found balance in my life. I began to feel not, quite, so all alone. I began to find Joy in spite of, and yes, even in my pain and chronic illness. And, I was able to talk to my daughter about that Joy. We have taught each other a lot.

If you have a personal relationship with Jesus, then you have a foundation that will be your rock during the storms that you will go through. (Read Matthew 7:24-27) If you would like to have a personal relationship with Jesus, please follow this link. http://www.hopeontheinside.org/getwithgod.html It is the most important decision you will ever make.

As Beth Moore, a popular Christian Bible teacher talks about, sometimes, some of us, come to a point in our lives when we need a radical answer to a radical problem. My being so ill, that at times I could hardly get out of bed and, also, having the responsibility of not only raising three children, but one with chronic illness, I would say is a radical situation. The only spiritual path that I found that answered all of my needs, was the very radical idea of following Jesus Christ. I was a Christian…but to follow Jesus daily and have a real relationship is the way that…to my amazement and ever present awe…I found, not only answers, but Joy.

I am not going to tell you that this is easy or that if you pray a certain way that you or your child will be healed. I am not going to tell you to take a bubble bath and all will be well. What I will tell you is that there is Hope. Even if you are stuck in the house or a hospital, day after day. I believe that if you have asked Jesus to live in you, that He will guide you and help you, even when you feel like everything is working against you. Sometimes, those very things are actually God getting your attention. He wants you to know He has many gifts to give you. Even in the midst of your pain and your child’s pain, there is Grace, there is Mercy, there is Love, there is Hope.

There is… Hope on the Inside.

“May the God of all Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with Hope By the Power of the Holy Spirit. --Romans 15:13

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If you are raising a chronically ill child, please send me an email at findingtruejoy@yahoo.com And tell me a little about yourself, including your age and the age(s) of your children, if you don’t mind, so that I can know more about you.

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Kim Dillhoff lives outside of Portland , OR with her (supportive) husband of 22 years and two children, still at home. Alex (16) and Katie (13).[here is the link to Katie’s poems that she wrote awhile ago and allowed Hope on the Inside to print.

http://www.hopeontheinside.org/KATIESKORNER.html

Kim, also has a son, Rob (25) who lives near her. Kim and Katie both suffer from Fibromyalgia (FM) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Kim also suffers from Myofacial Pain Syndrome (MPS). She was diagnosed in 2000. Kim has been a Christian most of her life. But has followed Jesus’ teachings much more closely, in order to have a personal relationship, for about the last 5 years. She feels blessed that God has set her in a family by blood and of Christian sisters who support her, and her family, with prayer and love.