God's Plan

My brother left a comment yesterday regarding his own struggle with his diagnoses (asthma and a minor case of Klippel Feil Syndrome) and his relationship with God that has helped him to appreciate the blessings God has bestowed upon him.  He then stated, "The Lord never gives us more than what we can handle. You are a strong woman--look at what you have accomplished. MS may be your biggest cross to bear, but God believes you can handle it where someone else may not have been able. God has faith in you!!! The question is 'Do you have faith and trust in him?'" 

Although, I have questioned God and wondered "why me?," I have never stopped believing in and putting my faith in God.  In fact, I have come to believe that I was diagnosed to make a difference.  I have yet to figure out, exactly, how I will accomplish this, but I believe that I can and will.  I am only 27 and believe that I have a long life ahead of me, and I am dedicated to making some difference in the lives of those with MS during this lifetime.  As you know, I have already become more involved - working with the National MS Society on the Walk MS Committee and continually looking into more ways to help/get involved.  I believe that this is God's plan for me.

I appreciate my brother's wisdom and agree that God never gives us more than we can handle.  Like I have said before, I consider myself to be very lucky overall.  I have amazing people in my life to help me and support me in every way that they can.  I am a smart, educated person, and I used my mad research skills to practically diagnose myself before actually being told by the neurologist that I had MS.  I knew that there was a good chance that MS would be my diagnosis (even though I had hoped for something else).  This knowledge helped me significantly.  I was better prepared to cope with the news (depression can often be a problem for people with MS, but this has not been a problem for me).  Also, I was familiar with the disease, knowing people who had been diagnosed, so I had people to talk to who knew what I was going through.  I have co-workers who have been diagnosed and am very lucky to work with people who understand the disease and have been very supportive.  This is especially great because many workplaces view MS as a disability and many people have suffered in their careers because of that.

Had this diagnosis come at another time in my life, I am not sure I would have been able to handle it (at least not as I have).  There were a number of things going just right in my life that have made this diagnosis much less devastating.  This helps me to believe that God never gives us more than we can handle.  My brother is right and I believe that wholeheartedly.  I cannot say that I am happy that I was diagnosed with MS, I may complain at times, and I may not always understand it, but I know that God has a plan for me and I believe that I was diagnosed to help, which is what I intend to do.

Thank you for your comment (hope you don't mind that I used it as a topic for this post).  I love you very much, I am sorry that you were upset with God at one time about your own setbacks.  Although, I have known about your struggles to some extent, due to our age difference, I don't think I have ever fully understood what you have gone (and still go) through.  We are blessed in so many ways!  I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am by you and the rest of my family and friends.  I look forward to reading those books :)