it's the little things that count when living with pain or illness

With the holidays nearing once again we are urged by everyone from Hallmark commercials to our local newspaper editor to take a moment to count our blessings. If you live with a chronic illness you may find that blessings are a bit more hidden in your life than they were previously.

Thanksgivings past you may have easily sat around the table of relatives before the feast and play the "I'm Thankful For. . ." game. When it was your turn, without hesitation, you chose one of the many things you were grateful for to share: "I'm thankful for my job, my family, my financial security." And--and, ah yes, there was that thing called "health."

Now though, the ease of being able to list health on your thankful list has disappeared. And perhaps you are even struggling with some other things you've lost, in part, due to your loss of health. Maybe the lack of finances keeps you awake at night in addition to the physical pain. Or maybe it's the empty side of the bed where your spouse once slept.

Can we still be thankful? Yes! In his book  "You Can Be Happy No Matter What: Five Principles for Keeping Life in Perspective," Richard Carlson (who was well known for his "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff” book series before passing in 2006), writes, "Most of us experience fleeting moments of happiness but then let them pass us by without due notice. . . We do this because we are always looking to find happiness somewhere else."

So, what are some things that we can thank God for, despite our illness? Friends who care, a roof over our heads, and that we have hope and faith. All of these are important. But what are some of the unusual things that someone with a chronic illness may really be thankful for that a healthy person may not give a second thought?

·        A drive-thru of any kind: for prescr i ptions, coffee, food and banks

·        Parking spots, especially close ones that don't require us to pull out our placard

·        Sugar-free desserts and the people who bring them on special occasions, remembering we can't eat sugar

·        Being able to watch an amazing sunset without walking five feet from the car

·        Unexpected clear freeways when we were expecting rush hour traffic

·        The grocery clerk that says, "Can I help you to you car with that?" even though you are only twenty-seven and look perfectly healthy

·        Shopping carts that have four working wheels that all go the direction they ought

·        The ability to sleep well on a hotel bed instead of sitting in the bathroom reading all night so as not to wake our roommates

·        People that smile at us for no apparent reason

·        UPS delivery men who don't give it a second thought that we are still in our pajamas at two-thirty in the afternoon

·        The smile of our child when we've done everything in our power to make sure she has a good time--and she actually does

·        Being able to get both shampoo and conditioner out of the bottles and hold your arms up long enough to use them

·        Bottles and jars that open easily and don't require us to try three different jar openers

·        Products that have the word, "automatic" or "self-cleaning"

·        Car keys that turn easily so the ignition starts

·        The ability to request a wheelchair at the airport

·        Doctors who actually give you a light hug on your way out of the office say, "I wish I could do more."

In her book, "Have a Little Faith!" author Sherri Connell reminds those who have their health to be grateful for their abilities. "When was the last time you took the time to thank God for being able to sleep six hours straight or for giving you the strength to wash your hair? Have you ever praised Him for being able to scrub your toilet or being able to refill your soap dispensers? . . . Have you ever been elated to be able to dust a few pieces of furniture or for making a simple meal? People who have disabilities count blessings others never even stop to think about!"

If counting your own blessings feels a little dry, then have some fun with it like I did above and put a spin on what you're thankful for. Start a” Funny-Gratitudes-that-Affect-My-Attitude journal and see how quickly you will be able to--not only have the longest list at the family gathering--but create some giggles as well as personal reflection among those you love.

Get Lisa Copen’s monthly ezine, HopeNotes, at http://www.restministries.org and receive for FREE the first 40 pages of her book “Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend.” Lisa is the founder of Rest Ministries and National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. She lives in San Diego with her husband and 4-year-old son and has had rheumatoid arthritis since 1993 at the age of 24.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This article may be reprinted "as is" --everything above this line, including the footer. If you have questions, please contact us at rest[at]restministries.org

Looking for some fresh content? One of the ways I have helped spread the word about Rest Ministries is to write a number of articles, all of which are available to reprint for free. You can use these anywhere, such as your blog, newsletter (for church or support group, or whatever...), ezine, web site or more.

Thank you for helping us by freely using the articles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sampling of articles include:

* Who Hates to Hear They Look Great? Over Half of the Chronically Ill

* 7 Secrets the Chronically Ill Want Chaplains to Know

* Living with Invisible Illness: 5 Ways to Let Go of Hurt Feelings

* 6 Reasons Not to Worry When You Have a Chronic Illness

* Romantic Ideas for When You Have a Chronic Illness

* Chronically Ill Can Manage Pain in Comfortable Hotels

* 50 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend

* 8 Choices You Must Make to Live Successfully with Chronic Illness

* Hospital Visits: What Do You Talk About?

* 6 Ways to Let Those with Chronic Illness in Your Church Know You Care

* My Medical Records: Why Can't I See Them?

* 8 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Mom

* Are there Medical Benefits to Video Games?

* 6 Ways Anyone Can Lose a Few Pounds This Summer

* Celebrating Today Despite Living with Illness

* Illness Isn't an Excuse for Not Guarding Our Words

* Learning to be Assertive Despite the Fatigue of Illness
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just be sure to include whatever footer is attached to send people over to Rest Ministries where they can find more freebies, like daily devotional and support groups. That's all! We'd also love to know if you do use them so we can say thank you! We may even mention YOUR web site in our ezine which goes out to over 13,000 people. So... we all can help each other out in spreading the word so more people can find TRUE HOPE while living with illness, not just the temporary stuff.

You can find these articles at 2 web site, depending on your preference.

One is Idea Marketers where the materail can also be ayndicated on your web site or blog. See
http://www.ideamarketers.com/library/profile.cfm?writerid=26449 where instructions for syndication are also available.

The other is Faith Writers at
http://www.faithwriters.com/member-profile.php?id=18934 where you can also "track the author" to be notified when new articles are posted.

If you ever find any of my writings online that you're interested in reprinting, just email me and the answer is nearly always yes! rest[at]restministries.org

Blessings Always,

Lisa Copen

I post this every year and it still makes me smile. Feel free to reprint it anywhere you want to give people with chronic illness a few giggles. This article is free to reprint--just add the footer at the bottom as it's written.

Blessings,

Lisa Copen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FEELING GRINCHY?

Every person around
The country it seemed
Liked Christmas a lot...
All was joy, red and green.
But the Grinch,
Who lived with illness,
And had a heart of the blues,
Did not like Christmas!
The Grinch dreaded Christmas!
The whole Christmas season!
So much to do, so little energy,
there were all kinds of reasons.

It could be said that the medicines
were making her mind feel like putty,
She went shopping at last,
and forgot why she had gone---how nutty.
But we think that the most likely reason of all,
May have been that her heart was hurting,
trying to find her place in it all.

But, whatever the reason,
Her heart or her head,
She laid there on Christmas morning,
with a feeling of dread.
Staring up at the ceiling from the bed, feeling very down,
She wondered how to make it through this day,
without even the hint of a frown.
For she knew every friend and family member around,
Would be arriving soon,
ready to open the gifts and paint the town.
"I just want to feel decent!" she snarled with a sneer.
"Today is Christmas! It's actually here!"
Then she growled, with her grinch fingers nervously drumming,
"I must find a way to keep the pain from coming!"

For, later she knew...
...All the relatives would arrive
They would bring with them her nieces and nephews who would make a
mess
and tons of noise.
They'd rush for their toys!
And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise!
Noise! Noise! Noise!
That's one thing she hated!
The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!
Then the family, young and old,
would sit down to a feast.
And they'd feast! And they'd feast!
And they'd FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!
They would start on pudding, and rare roast beef,
With her irritable bowel,
the Grinch couldn't eat these in the least!

And then they'd do something she liked least of all!
Every family member, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, and say, "You look so great!"
They'd all tell her she needed to get back to work,
Stop lazing around in her pajamas so late!
They'd talk! And they'd advise.
And they'd think
they were so wise.
And the more the Grinch thought of the Christmas-Nice
The more the Grinch thought,
"I must stop this whole thing!
"Why for over five years I've put up with it now!
I must either deal with it or convince them somehow!"
...But HOW?"
Then she got an idea!
An awful idea!
The Grinch got a wonderful awful idea!

"I know just what to do!"
The Grinch laughed in her throat.
And she made a quick run to the closet
for her lounging coat.
And she chuckled, and clucked,
"What a great Grinchy trick!
"With this robe and my slippers,
I'll look just like I'm sick!"
"All I need is a sniffle, a cough, maybe a cane..."
The Grinch looked around.
But since canes are scarce, there was none to be found.
Did that stop the old Grinch...?
No! The Grinch simply said,
"If I can't find a cane, I'll just look sick instead!"
So she got out her pale makeup
and tried not to use anything pink,
She made sure the circles under her eyes,
were not covered up, but seen.

Then she threw on some sweats
And put her hair up in a twist
It didn't look fancy,
It looked like you do when you're sick.
Then the Grinch said, "I'm ready"
They can start to arrive,
I'll be nice to everyone,
But I'm not going to lie."
The family members arrived
and saw the Grinch arrive at the door.
"What's happened to her?" They whispered and more.
The Grinch said, "Hello, come in, how are you?"
And when they asked her she just said, "Today's not a good day.
It may be Christmas but I still feel a droop."

Then little Cindy-Lou arrived
dragging her noisy toy behind her.
This was more than the Grinch could take!
She couldn't allow that noise to batter.
The Grinch reached out and took the toy,
"let me have that, hon.."
She stared up at the Grinch as asked,
"Auntie, why are you taking away my toy? Why?"

But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick
She thought up a lie, and she thought it up quick!
"Why, my sweet little tot," the Grinch lied,
"There's a better one under the tree,
we have even more to surprise!
"So I'm taking this one away for now, my dear.
"I'll put it away for now, and later, bring it back here."
And her fib fooled the child. Then she patted her head
And sent her to the tree to open up a quiet puzzle instead.

The Grinch thought she had it all figured out,
At least people understood. There was no more doubt.
She expected to hear people talking about her,
In the kitchen they surely must all be worrying about.
"That's a noise," grinned the Grinch,
"That I simply must hear!"
So she paused. And the Grinch put a hand to her ear.
And she did hear a sound rising through the wall,
It was joy and fun, at first it wasn't concern at all!
The sound wasn't sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY!

She stared into the kitchen,
The Grinch popped her eyes!
Then she shook!
What she saw was a shocking surprise!
Cindy Lou sat in her mom's lap and said,
"What's wrong with Auntie?"
Her mom told her quietly, "She's a very special lady.
When we visit her, she often tries to look nice,
But she still hurts inside,
She just acts like she's fine."
"I love Auntie, I don't want her to hurt," said Cindy Lou.
"I know," said her mom, "We love her too."

Family members were still having a great time,
They weren't worried about her,
or even of her appearance surprised.
She hadn't made them concerned,
because they already were,
She just didn't know
that they didn't know what to say to her.
And the Grinch, with her grinch-feet ice-cold on the floor,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could I be adored?
I look so awful, I'm in such a bad mood.
I've been such a fake hostess, I even took away a gift from sweet
Cindy Lou!"

"I thought no one understood,
but I never thought to ask.
I listened to what they said,
and didn't try to explain.
I assumed they should just know how I felt
I let them pull my chain."
And she puzzled three hours,
`till her puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something
she hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," she thought,
"doesn't come from feeling great.
Maybe Christmas...perhaps....
"comes from communicating straight!
Maybe Christmas comes from accepting the love
Of those all around us, friends, and God from above."

And what happened then...?
Well...in some parts they say
That the Grinch's small heart
Grew three sizes that day!
And the minute her heart didn't feel quite so slow,
She whizzed through the house, with a spirit that was no longer low.
The body still had aches, the pain didn't go away.
But the rest of the afternoon, her spirit felt at play.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lisa Copen lives with rheumatoid
arthritis is the founder of Rest Ministries, a Christian organization
that serves the chronically ill. She had a little help from Dr. Seuss on
this! Visit her web site at www.restministries.org and sign up for
the free ezine PLUS get the next issue of HopeKeepers Magazine
free!

I am honored to have been interviewed by author Mary Yerkes who recently contributed a series of articles for Focus on the Family about living with chronic illness. Check them out here!

• Adjusting to Life with Chronic Illness
• Remaining Positive When Facing a Chronic Illness
• When We Suffer: A Biblical Perspective on Pain and Chronic Illness
• Ministering Effectively to the Chronically Ill
• Story: A Journey through Chronic Illness

We've had some pastors ask, "Why hasn't James Dobson mentioned Lisa?" Well, we were on the web site before but web site are ever-changing. Above are some fresh links and comments from myself as founder as Rest Ministries, to provide for pastors, where you can show we are are Dobson-approved.

Lisa