Dear Reader and Friend, you may have noticed I’m slow to post fresh content. It’s due to a prolonged season battling a health relapse which I’m still struggling with.

I can’t predict when I might return because when you live in the Slow Lane of chronic illness it’s hard to judge what you can manage on any given day.

Months of excessive fatigue, brain fog, weakness, and increased pain make stumbling out of bed and getting dressed a great achievement, never mind thinking straight or writing anything.

However, God has been using this period to teach me the value of deeper surrender and rest, alongside endurance, patience, and l…o…n…g…s…u…f…f…e…r…i…n…g.

These attributes are beneficial for my soul even if it protests somewhat during the learning process. I also sense a nudge to return to the restful practice of centering prayer to help me stay calm.

God recently graced me with a small creative spark to pen a couple of poems. I’ve also forayed into fiction and composed a sombre short story about grief. Let me know if you’d like to read it… 😉✍️

I’m rejoicing that I’m here NOW, after slowly piecing words together over a few weeks. It gives me hope for more to come. There is always hope for us when we trust in God.

We have hope of healing. Hope of better rest and recovery. Hope of dormant creativity reawakening. Hope of learning and growing spiritually as we rest and recover our equilibrium and strength.

5 hidden blessings of life in the Slow Lane of chronic illness

God uses our enforced downtime to help us slow, rest, recover, listen to His voice, seek His face, and get into better alignment with His thoughts and plans.

Our priorities shift into sharper focus when circumstances throw us off balance and pull us away from the life we had before.

Nature speaks volumes to us and encourages our hearts, even if we’re simply viewing the changing landscape out of our bedroom window.

We begin to appreciate the small, the seemingly insignificant things, moments and events, and treasure them more than before.

Our hearts open up to a deeper awareness of God’s presence with us as we lean harder on Him for our daily needs.

5 extra hidden blessings

We learn to expect so much less from our lives and from ourselves. The burden lifts because we just can’t manage anything extra.

We place greater value on our family, friends and loved ones because any time with them is precious and we’re grateful for their help and support.

Simplicity and reflection become the hallmark of our days. We discover that an observed life is one that’s really worth living.

Doing less and taking time to rest and reflect can lead to greater awareness and thankfulness.

Our lives are based less on achievement and more on discerning what we are capable of this day, this hour, this moment.

PS: One way to encourage ourselves to rest is to use a screensaver reminder on our phones, like this one from a selection found here.

If you value quiet or soothing silence, these 19 suggestions are useful. Or if you need to be still before God and rest in Him, the video below might help.

Thank you for sticking around this rather unreliable writer’s blog. It means a lot. Blessings and love, Joy Xx ❤️😘💜