Always within Reach~~

To this day I have no idea as to how several generations of the Bible stumbled my way~~but the blessing of having my Great-Grandma, Grandmother, and my Mom's Bibles is wonderful.  Each one of these Bibles have certain verses underlined, notes in the corner of a page as to the passing of a family member, pages have been lost from one of these-but they all hold a special place in my heart.

I spend long nights with no sleep as Pain rages against my body and there is nothing to do but Pray and Wait~~~these are lonely hours-all I need do is shake my husband from his sleep and he is with me, but one of us needs to be fully rested.   All of my Bibles are stacked carefully together~~ one day as I passed by them, something hit me "You need a Bible on your Desk"  I quickly picked one up, not looking to see who it had belonged to-all that mattered was getting it in place.

Now this Bible rests on top of my printer~~~(well This Book is filled with Words meant for all) so the printer felt like the perfect spot.  Recently during one of my worst nights of Pain, I glanced up at my "Pain Won't Beat Me" poster, searching for inner strength~ Pain was growing worse by the hour, and I felt helpless.  Thats when I remembered the old Bible-I grabbed for it like a lifeline, laying it gently on my desk.
My hand settled on top-and I sat still.   

There was no grand moment of relief from the Pain~~~but I could feel a sense of Peace settle within me.  Somehow I just knew HE was with me~~and would help me through this dark night.   As I kept my hand on the Bible, memories flowed as I recalled my Great Grandmother, Granny, and Mom~~~seeing each one of them walking into church, Bible clutched gently to their hearts~~something told me they kept the Bible
close by-always within Reach~~~there to help them through rough times.

If there was a simple answer to make Chronic Pain go away-trust me~~I would be running toward it and urging everyone who suffers to follow me and get relief.  But its not that simple~~~

Chronic Pain is exactly what the two words say~~~these two words carry a ton of physical anguish and
for me, probably for many countless people--its here to stay.

May God watch over all who walk this path-just know He is always within your reach.

martha