Once upon a time, life was a simple story. I was strong in mind, body, and spirit. Sure, I had a few aches and pains, but mostly I ignored them and kept active.<\/p>\n
I stayed as healthy as possible to honor the body God had given me. I felt his presence, especially in the beauty of the natural world. I adored the outdoors\u2014walking in the woods with my husband and son, working in my garden. But once upon another time, the story of my life was rewritten.<\/p>\n
It started in the summer of 1999, when we lived in Illinois. I\u2019d been hiking with my family. I pulled a tick from my leg, a creature no bigger than a period on a printed page. Later I stood in the bathroom, craning to look in the mirror.<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis,\u201d I called. \u201cCome here. My back is just itching right off!\u201d My husband saw an angry red rash spreading across my back. \u201cProbably from the heat, honey,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Who had time for worry? I was a busy mom with a 6-year-old. We were renovating our house, and I was doing much of the work myself. The rash went away, and I pushed myself as hard as ever.<\/p>\n
But over the next few months I didn\u2019t have my usual energy. I was short of breath. Often I felt my heart pounding. \u201cIt\u2019s probably stress,\u201d my doctor said. Some may have called my schedule stressful, but to me it was living life to the fullest. I wasn\u2019t sure what to think.<\/p>\n
Gardening with Dennis one day, I was suddenly so dizzy I collapsed on the ground. My doctor prescribed extra rest. But the dizziness sometimes got so bad I had to crawl on my hands and knees until it passed.<\/p>\n
I went to specialists and was poked and prodded. Blood tests. Scans. Nerve tests. Steroids lessened the dizziness, but the spells continued.<\/p>\n
Some days I couldn\u2019t get off the couch because of the numbness in my legs and arms. We got help at home because I couldn\u2019t always take care of my son. What was happening to me?<\/p>\n
I spent every day cooped up in the house, in doctors\u2019 offices or waiting rooms\u2014completely cut off from nature. That was where I had felt assured of God\u2019s presence. So where was he now?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so tired of complaining all the time,\u201d I said to Dennis one day. \u201cI\u2019m so tired of being sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
So many things went wrong. I wrote down each possible diagnosis\u2014vertigo, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune inner ear disease. I had surgery to remove tumors and cysts. I felt like I was losing my mind.<\/p>\n
Finally, in 2006, a neurologist came up with a new diagnosis, Lyme disease. Lyme is a tick-borne illness named after the Connecticut town where it was identified. I remembered the tiny creature I\u2019d pulled off my leg and the rash I\u2019d had six years earlier.<\/p>\n
The neurologist explained that the bacterial infection had been wreaking havoc ever since.<\/p>\n
Lyme is curable, but treatment is most effective when given immediately. Some people are never cured. I didn\u2019t want to think about that. \u201cI know what\u2019s wrong now,\u201d I told Dennis. \u201cI can fight and move on with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
A month of intravenous antibiotics convinced me I was right. I felt incredibly better. I still had numbness, and all my energy hadn\u2019t come back, but I was determined to put this nightmare behind me.<\/p>\n
I ignored the lingering symptoms. I could again be the mom I wanted to be. I worked in my garden. I walked in the woods. I signed up for our church\u2019s annual retreat. The theme sounded perfect: \u201cA Time of Renewal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll like the guest speaker,\u201d a friend said when we registered at the hotel conference center. \u201cYou have a lot in common.\u201d My friend left it at that.<\/p>\n
Natalie Nichols gave an impressive presentation, which explained my friend\u2019s mysterious remark. Natalie had been down a road like mine. Exhaustion. Arthritic pain. Depression. Endless doctors and medication.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still struggle with Lyme,\u201d she said, \u201cbut God sustains me.\u201d She talked with a zest for living, as if she didn\u2019t have an illness at all.<\/p>\n
Later that evening I noticed Natalie was sitting in the hotel lobby. I walked over to introduce myself. \u201cI had Lyme disease,\u201d I said, \u201cbut I\u2019m well now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Up close, Natalie\u2019s eyes were deep and dark. She seemed to look directly into my soul. \u201cDo you have any numbness?\u201d she asked. \u201cFatigue?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I confessed, \u201cbut it\u2019s better since the antibiotics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Natalie motioned for me to sit down. \u201cLisa,\u201d she said, \u201cI know it\u2019s hard, but you have to face it.\u201d Her voice was full of compassion. \u201cYou still have Lyme,\u201d she said. \u201cYou may always have it. Accept the diagnosis and get further treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
I started to shake. Natalie took my hands in hers. \u201cI want to be healthy again!\u201d I said. \u201cI want to forget about Lyme disease!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGod is always with you, Lisa. You can live your life as fully as possible, whether you\u2019re healed or not. Knowing that will help you feel renewed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The power in Natalie\u2019s eyes was irresistible. She prayed with me until I felt calm. Just when I started to wonder if she was some kind of angel sent from heaven especially for me, she brought me back down to earth. \u201cHere\u2019s the name of a Lyme specialist. He will help you,\u201d she said. I believed her.<\/p>\n
I came home from the retreat a new woman. Perhaps I was stronger in mind and spirit than I was in body, but that too would come in time. I couldn\u2019t deny my illness. Not until every symptom was gone.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, whether I was hiking in the woods or sitting in a neurologist\u2019s office, God was with me. He had hired a guest speaker to tell me so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Once upon a time, life was a simple story. I was strong in mind, body, and spirit. Sure, I had a few aches and pains, but mostly I ignored them and kept active. I stayed as healthy as possible to honor the body God had given me. I felt his presence, especially in the beauty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2391],"class_list":["post-14125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angels"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n