“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. “ (2 Timothy4:2)

“Praising my Savior, all the day long. . . ” I sang. It was easy today. The nausea was gone, and for the third day in a row, I felt a freedom to push forward without the ‘ugh’ of a leaden GI tract weighing me down. Many other conditions remained.

My fingers still white and numb, a bathroom incident already, and my ‘everyday’ pain had not miraculously disappeared. Those were not so bothersome today because the headache and nausea were gone. I had discontinued a new medication and now these side effects had faded. It was a day of possibilities ahead of me and that was exciting.

Why is it that we can be so quick to praise in good times? I thought. Then I realized that my chronic pain and illness journey has come to the point in which great and serious pain and suffering also deliver me to the altar of praise immediately. That, of course by an act of grace.

Then today’s key verse came to mind. What about the in-between times? A common stomping ground for this journey. That was where I was drawn to look at myself by the still small voice in my heart. I realized He is calling me to sharpen this up now that He has walked me through the two extremes.

So much of our chronic pain and illness journey lies in the day-to-day between times. Our every day is sometimes worse than what our peers would consider a bad day. Where am I with that? Do I praise Him as much in my ‘status quo’ times or does it take a medication snafu or crisis to break me out of it?