When It Hurts To Write

Writing a novel, article, blog post, devotional or even penning a journal entry isn’t always easy under the best of circumstances. But when a chronic illness is present, writing an be an excruciating activity.

Chronic illnesses like Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, MS (Multiple Sclerosis), RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), and many others, can sap an individual’s physical strength and also affect one’s mental and spiritual wellbeing. So how do authors cope? Do they push through these times when their debilitating conditions flare or take to their beds – which might be what their bodies are screaming for them to do?!

For myself, with Fibromyalgia and Small Fiber Neuropathy, I write in the mornings. I get up early and get right to work. About mid-morning, I take a break, eat breakfast, shower, dress, spend some time with the Lord, and then I try to get back into my project. In the afternoons, I try to accomplish some marketing things and answer email. However, by two o’clock, I’m shot for the rest of the day, except for minor things like unloading the dishwasher or running the vacuum around. I will admit that there are days when I can’t even accomplish that much. It gets depressing sometimes.

I asked some friends with chronic illnesses to tell me how they manage.

April Gardner states: I have RA. Doing good now, but a couple of years ago, I could barely care for myself. Still, I wrote. How? I look back and can only attribute it to God--and the sheer love writing. Poking away at the keyboard while my joints swelled and my tendons curled, I learned a lot about what I'm capable of. Pain is nothing in the face of almighty God and a little determination. RA will always be with me, but bless His name, so will God.

Thanks for the opportunity to share what He's done for me!


~April W Gardner
Sr. Editor, Clash of the Titles
http://www.aprilgardner.com/

Patty Hall states this: I live with chronic back pain from an attack I sustained when I was a nurse over 25 years ago. There are many times that I have to write lying flat on my back---I do this longhanded--sometimes with a regular pen, sometimes with a digital pen that can transcribe my writing into the Word program of my computer. I've written three books like this, the first to be released by Love Inspired Historical this summer.

Patty Smith Hall
www.pattysmithhall.com



Finally, Dr. Carrie Pagels states: First of all, thank you for writing about this Andrea, and again, I love reading your books and especially enjoy your voice, which is beautiful. As I write this, I am listening to CBN to Creflo Dollar and he is quoting scripture from Isiah. One day, God will free all of us from all pain and sickness. God makes healing available to us whether it is permanently in heaven or if for a short time on a particular day. In my faith walk, I have found that when God calls me to do something, He makes a way for me to do it.

While working as a psychologist, my rheumatoid (and other forms of) arthritis worsened and I was given every form of biologic treatment available (save one) to treat my severe symptoms. The last one, Rituxan, put me in the bed for twelve weeks last year with reactions to the biologic and with illnesses from my weakened immune system (Rituxan is a powerful immunosuppressant). But God enabled me to write during that time. Sometimes in the middle of the night for one hour. Sometimes for an hour and half in the day. An hour here and hour there to do writing related things when I could do nothing else, not shop, cook, nor do activities with my son. That was extreme. I no longer work as a psychologist and stopped with biologic treatment. It makes the pain, stiffness, and difficulties I still have seem minuscule by comparison.

So my bottom line is: Stay right with God, do what you need to do to get in line with His will for you, if He intends for you to write He will enable you to do so for however and whatever He needs you to do. Managing stress is important, but much stress comes from not doing His will to begin with!


Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D.
Voices columnist, My Book Therapy e-zine http://voices.mybooktherapy.com/
http://shoutlife.com/cfpagels
http://cfpagels.blogspot.com

In her book The God of all Comfort, Judy Gann writes, “There are times when we loathe our portraits-in-progress. The dark tones of illness seem like blemishes on the canvas. We earn for the day when our portraits will be completed. Yet…God’s portraits will take our lifetimes to finish. Meanwhile we can trust in his promise to complete the spiritual masterpieces he is creating of our lives.”

Judy goes on to cite Philippians 1:6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. (KJV)

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As with anything in life, particularly with chronic illnesses, God’s promises are the only ones worth clinging to. No doctor can offer what The Great Physician can -- healing from the inside out. He has the miraculous ability to write His will upon our hearts, which is enough to sustain us in even the worst of times.