Since I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in October 2012, I have been sending occasional updates on my health to family and friends via email. However, I'm super long-winded, and I don't want to be inundating people with more information than they want to hear. I decided that if I put my updates and reflections here, people can read as much or as little as they'd like. It's also helpful for me to have this all in one place, so I can easily share this blog with anyone who wants to know more and look back myself to see how far I've come.
All the posts up until January 2014 are just copied from the emails I sent. As I was going through the emails and posting them, I had the urge to edit or omit things I had written at the time, things that seem a little overemotional or naive from my perspective today. But I decided to leave them intact, as they are a reflection of where I was on that point in my journey.
If you want to make sure you don't miss any updates (Mom...), you can sign up on the home page to receive an email notification when I post something. You are also welcome to share this blog with other people that you think would like to read it. I made the decision a while ago that I wanted to share this journey as openly as possible with anyone who is interested. A lot of what I share is very personal, but I believe that being honest about our struggles, as well as our joys, allows us all to love and support one another better.
My only hesitation in putting this into a blog form is that I have really appreciated all the responses and support I have gotten via email, and I don't want to let go of that. So, please feel free to send me comments, questions, and responses through the Contact Form on the home page, or just send me an email directly. I really do love to hear from you!
By the way, the title of the blog is mostly a reminder to myself. It's taken from the Bible, from the Book of James when he encourages Christians to "consider it all joy" when they experience trials and sufferings, because looking at suffering through the eyes of faith changes everything. I love that James doesn't say "feel joyful all the time," which is probably an unreachable goal. Instead, this sounds like he's suggesting a choice, a different way to look at a difficult situation. I'm certainly not good at this all the time, but I am working in my daily life to "consider it all joy."
