{"id":47478,"date":"2005-01-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-01-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/man-explains-needs-of-sufferers\/"},"modified":"2005-01-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2005-01-31T00:00:00","slug":"man-explains-needs-of-sufferers","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/man-explains-needs-of-sufferers\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Explains the Needs of Sufferers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Christian man suffering with a complex and painful condition called Fibromyalgia, sent a letter to colleagues and friends offering ideas on what a suffer needs and doesn&#39;t need from those around him.<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Living with chronic pain is like being in a room where a radio is playing at too high a volume, and it can&#39;t be turned down or off. It can very distracting and prevent me from focusing on conversations or tasks.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I can look fine, even when pain has me close to tears. Because my symptoms aren&#39;t (usually) visible, I&#39;m nervous about what others believe about my health. When you say, &quot;But you look fine to me,&quot; I wonder if that means you don&#39;t believe I don&#39;t feel fine.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Chronic pain is variable. I can&#39;t predict how I am going to feel when I wake up\u0097I can&#39;t even be sure from minute to minute. As you can imagine, this is one of the most frustrating aspects of chronic pain.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Disability-related depression is common, and I proactively manage it. Sometimes it feels as if my life was hit by a tornado when I wasn&#39;t looking. Sometimes I feel grief and sadness for what I can no longer do. Sometimes I forget how strong I am and how much I still have to offer you, my family, friends, and the world. I&#39;m not giving up on me, and I hope you won&#39;t either.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I know you want to help by telling me other people&#39;s success. Aunt Gertrude&#39;s bracelet or your boss&#39;s chiropractor are probably terrific. But in all likelihood if you&#39;ve heard of or tried it, so have I. I have an excellent team of doctors.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>When I mention my pain or chronic illness, please don&#39;t &quot;skip&quot; over it or look away. We don&#39;t have to discuss my health constantly, but I can&#39;t ignore it all the time either. Bear with me, accept me as I am, and try to understand my situation. Please grant me the same respect and faith as I make my way down this road I didn&#39;t choose but must travel.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3395,3548,3648,3784,4128,4209,4445,4475,4528,4584,4941,4971,5103],"tax_ctp_topics":[378,382],"class_list":["post-47478","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-affliction","tax_ctp_tags-caring","tax_ctp_tags-compassion","tax_ctp_tags-disabilities","tax_ctp_tags-health","tax_ctp_tags-illness","tax_ctp_tags-medical-care","tax_ctp_tags-misery","tax_ctp_tags-need","tax_ctp_tags-pain","tax_ctp_tags-sensitivity","tax_ctp_tags-sickness","tax_ctp_tags-suffering"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Man Explains the Needs of Sufferers - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/man-explains-needs-of-sufferers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man Explains the Needs of Sufferers - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Christian man suffering with a complex and painful condition called Fibromyalgia, sent a letter to colleagues and friends offering ideas on what a suffer needs and doesn&#039;t need from those around him. 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