Stan’s Story
Taking Stock
God’s blessings, gifts, and favor are easily taken for granted and overlooked, especially the most valuable one: Faith. Faith is the stuff of hope. It’s the stuff we ought to breathe in, live on, spread around. There’s always something good hidden in the ugly. You just have to seek. Trust. Hope.
Warm Buns
If your PALS (person with ALS) has not yet required a bidet, get one now! If you do not have a PALS, get one anyway!
Two Are Better than One
It’s a strange transition in the relational dynamic, as one half of a marriage becomes a PALS and one becomes a CALS, as roles reverse and the strongest person in the house no longer is, as two become one again in a very different way.
Who’s in Control?
In a word: We can neither plan a future without ALS nor plan one with it. Looking too far ahead or behind, for too long, is a special kind of torture. In this way, God brings us to the point of surrender each day, to His wisdom, His plan, His timing, His grace. Like running a marathon, ALS is mostly a game of remaining focused on the right things. If we keep our eyes on Him, the mind, heart, and body follow.
Confession
After stepping away from 36 years in public safety, including 25 years as an FBI agent, my husband found himself with a lot of time on his hands and not much of a future to plan for. I don’t care who you are or what you believe in, stuff like that seriously messes with morale.
What’s in a Future?
Whether you are the person living with ALS or you are that person’s person, the journey is confusing, frustrating, and exhausting–mentally, emotionally, and of course, physically.
In the Waiting
When we spend too much time analyzing and evaluating ourselves from a flawed perspective, we get all twisted up inside and become paralyzed by misconceptions of who we are.