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My name is
Patricia and I am happily
married to a wonderful born
again Christian named Michael.
I believe that God sent him to me. He is loving
and caring and a good husband
and father,
and has stood by me during my
illness.
Before we were married I saw how
he loved and
cared for his mother and father,
always helping them
when they needed him. I think
that is what first opened
up my heart to him. We are
blessed with 7 children
between us,
all grown, and 10
grandchildren.
My
mother and father in-laws are
Deacon and
Deaconess James & Louise Thomas.
Louise
also sings in the Gospel Choir.
I attend
United Metropolitan Missionary
Baptist Church.
I
sing in the Christian Fellowship
Choir,
and I usher on the Young Adult
Usher Board. I was
baptized at age 11, 45 years
ago.
God makes ALL
things work together for good.
Romans 8:28
I have had Rheumatoid Arthritis
and Osteoarthritis
since 2002.
Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis
are painful,
chronic
diseases often resulting in
disability; affecting every
part of my life.
I also have had Fibromyalgia
since 2002.
Fibro is another painful disease in which there is
no
cure. Memory problems, pain and
fatigue
are constant
battles I have to fight. With
Fibro
there is
an unusual tiredness, and I
struggle with
muscle and joint soreness and pain.
I cannot sleep well at night; I
am always in pain.
When I get up each
day, I have to try to sit up
because my body is
stiff and sore, very 'achy,'
with flu like symptoms.
I feel drained of
energy and have to wait 15 to
20
minutes for my
blood to circulate, or I lose
my
balance when I
stand.
Some
mornings I do not want to get up
for I feel
so tired. My hands are
swollen and
starting to deform. I cannot
hold anything in my
hand too long, because I may
drop it. I have severe
headaches, my hips and shoulders
and back are
severely painful, just every
part of my body hurts.
I
have 'tender points' too,
painful to the touch. I am
in so much pain all the time;
the pain never stops.
I take pain pills, and they help, but they never
completely take
away the pain. I have stomach
problems in addition,
due to all the illnesses.
Before all this happened, I
was working.
Then the doctor said that I
should stop working
because of the illnesses.
If
you look at me all you would see
is tiredness. You
would not know anything else was
wrong with me.
You would think I had just done
a day's work. But
it is what you don't see that is
the problem. The
effects of my illnesses take a
toll, in every area of
my life.
BUT GOD sees and He is
with me and He
helps me each day. It is with
His help I make it
through the day and the
sleepless nights. He gives
me joy amidst the pain! You can
read more about
Arthritis and Fibromyalgia
by clicking the links below.
RA
Fibromyalgia
BUT GOD has used these diseases
to draw me closer to Him.
It is in having these diseases that I
am able to reach
out to others that God has put in my path. I
can relate to those in pain, and
I can love
them in a way that I could not
have done before.
I believe that God directs all
our steps, and
nothing happens by accident.
There is a purpose in
everything, even though we may
not see it at
the time. God has been dealing
with me about a
web site, and now I have one!
Joy For All was
constructed on August 3rd, 2005. I
believe that God
directed me to the one He wanted
to do my site.
I pray that Joy For All will
minister to it's visitors
and will encourage and bless
everyone in some way.
My mission is to tell others
about the unconditional
love of God. He LOVES us, really
loves us, without conditions!
When difficult things happen to
us, He
is there, always there to go
through it with us. He
helps me to bear the pain, and
enables me to care for others.
He gives me joy in the midst of
the pain,
because joy is from Him, and
does not depend
on my illness or my
circumstances.
I love the Lord, and I praise
Him for all He has
done for me, and all that
He will do! My prayer
is that you will know Him and
love Him too!
All pages are listed in the
Library
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