Celebrating ? the Second Anniversary

So.... it was two years ago that I awoke to a strange rash on my body which I believe came on as a result of cleansing my body from the bad tasty food that I enjoyed eating and replacing it with shakes and other good for you food (some of which was NOT tasty!) and then failing by eating some more of that tasty food. (But that is a whole different story for another day.)

Anyways after about a month of bouncing between my doctor and a naturopath I finally got in to see a dermatologist to confirm what I already suspected - psoriasis and not a mild case of it. For those of you unfamiliar with psoriasis - it is a non-contagious chronic auto-immune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system sends out a faulty signal that speeds up the growth cycle of skin cells. Translated - red, itchy, scaly, flaky skin that no normal lotion will clear up.

I had been experiencing increasing discomfort and unbelievable itchiness as the disease progressed. The only solace I could find was sitting in my cold basement in a t shirt and shorts covered in goosebumps as that seemed to affect the intensity of the itchiness - Garth came home many evenings to me sitting in the basement barely clothed and just crying from frustration. And it always seemed to hit the worst as I was preparing dinner which made meal times interesting!

So instead of following my dermatologist's advice I sought the advice from someone whose been dealing with the disease for over 20 years, my little sister Nikki. She had found a doctor that seemed to be making headway for her so I chose to follow his guidelines. I got the medicine and experienced about 6 weeks of complete discomfort, pain, lack of sleep as the medicine basically flushed my system of the disease. I was a full body psoriasis lesion - red, scaly and warm. I even had them behind my knees which affected my ability to walk for any distance which totally sucked because I love walking the paths behind my house. Those 6 weeks had to be some of the worst of my life, it was a dark time for me and for my family. I was on the phone with Nikki every day asking her when this would pass and I am certain that it was a God-thing when my other little sister Jen ended up at my house during that time. But even in those dark dark times I did have a light in my tunnel in the form of my family and my time in the WORD. The Lord really showed me a few things about myself. The time I spent in study really opened my eyes and drew me to a much closer place in my relationship with Him. The Lord laid out a lot of scripture for me in those times and those words have become a very special part of who I am now.

So why celebrate something that brought pain and discomfort? Okay so I might not really be celebrating it, but I am remembering it. I'm remembering what I went through and how I relied soley on the Lord and His promises to me. I will leave one promise that carried me through that time and continues to do so even today. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And even though I still have very visible signs of the disease, I have definitely turned a corner in how I approach every day - with thankfulness for the opportunity to learn more about my Lord and myself.

Have a great evening, I know I will reflecting on what God has done in my life in the last few years and what is yet to come. I've posted a photo below of those biggest supporters of all in my life. All three of them took care of me when I was really battling. I got lots of colored pictures, hand squeezes, hugs and back rubs from all three of them!

Thank you Garth, Tysen and Rylen! I love you all sooooo much and am so thankful that God blessed me with you.