Wheelchairs and Cartwheels

My doctor said these words to me today:

"Susana, it is amazing that after six years, you are not in a wheelchair. And you have absolutely no deformities. It's just amazing."

Oh yeah. Praise God.

(Whaaa?)

Let me explain:

I have aggressive Rheumatoid Arthritis.

I've had it for six and a half years. I really have a bad case of the stuff, actually. And there have been times where I couldn't step out of bed because the floor felt like broken glass, and I couldn't brush my hair because my elbows wouldn't bend far enough, and I couldn't lift my kids because my knee caps felt like they were separating from my legs. By all accounts, I should have the unsightly arthritic hands by now, and I should be using a walker for the deformed knees and ankles I should have by now.

The truth: I could probably do a cartwheel. (Please don't ask me to do a cartwheel. I said I could, not would. Although I probably should while I still can.) By God's grace and the gift of modern medicine (and the help of really good insurance) I have defied the odds of this debilitating disease. I can play my guitar. I can dance. I can pick up my kids. I have not had bad inflammation in nearly two and a half years. I recently ran a freakin' 5k, for goodness sake.

Praise God.

I totally forgot -- until my rheumatologist pointed it out -- that I have so much reason to thank God. It's easy to overlook stuff when the cards are good.

But it reminded me of some other things, too. Things that are gifts.

Healthy Kids

Loving Husband

Food

House

Breath

Life

Jesus

For all the things I usually take for granted, thank you, Lord.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Messiah Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Psalm 146

Call it cheating if you want to. But these words here are the only words I've had lately. They're just not my original words. But they're more powerful and meaningful and amazing than anything that's come from my lips. Ever.

To be read aloud (trust me on this):

Psalm 146

Praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD, O my soul.

I will praise the LORD all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes,

in mortal men, who cannot save.

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;

on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the LORD his God,

the Maker of heaven and earth,

the sea, and everything in them—

the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

He upholds the cause of the oppressed

and gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets prisoners free,

the LORD gives sight to the blind,

the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,

the LORD loves the righteous.

The LORD watches over the alien

and sustains the fatherless and the widow,

but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The LORD reigns forever,

your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the LORD.