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MEDITATION

Where Do You Turn When Coping With Chronic Illness?

It is ok to cry, laugh, and shout, and God will still be with you

Nancy Blackman, MASF
8 min readFeb 9, 2023

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The Spirituality of Coping with Illness: Physical and Mental by Nancy Blackman, gratitude, mindfulness, surrender
Created in Canva by Nancy Blackman, MASF

Oh, Great Spirit, teach me how to cope with the illness that plagues my body. Show me ways to love myself and have a better understanding of how You walk with me during this time.

A poem by Emma Roy

People assume you aren’t sick
unless they see the sickness on your skin
like scars forming a map of all the ways you’re hurting.

My heart is a prison of Have you tried’s
Have you tried exercising? Have you tried eating better?
Have you tried not being sad, not being sick?
Have you tried being more like me?
Have you tried shutting up?

Yes, I have tried. Yes, I am still trying,
and yes, I am still sick.

Sometimes monsters are invisible, and
sometimes demons attack you from the inside.
Just because you cannot see the claws and the teeth
does not mean they aren’t ripping through me.
Pain does not need to be seen to be felt.

Telling me there is no problem
won’t solve the problem.

This is not how miracles are born.
This is not how sickness works.

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Nancy Blackman, MASF
Nancy Blackman, MASF

Written by Nancy Blackman, MASF

Boosted & 8x Top Writer. Owner: Refresh the Soul publication. Editor: The Shortform and Poetry Playground. Published in: “Mixed Korean: Our Stories" — Kindle.

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