I have something called migraines. Since I was 11 years old, I have consistently had them. When I was younger it came with a lot of nausea. As I got older my body got use to the assault on its system. I rarely physically got sick. The pain was still there. I had been told at 11 that my family history caused them. My grandmother had them, much like mine. My Mom's are not as bad but there. It was ingrained into my genetics. As a kid who is told that it can be very hard. Many times I did not want to go on. Knowing that I would deal with them the rest of my life. When you have nothing that helps take the pain away it is very difficult to see the other side of that. Even now a bad one is hard. You begin to search desperately for anything to get rid of it. That thorn that is in your side. It is consistently there, reminding you that you're broken. I have had people tell me to try this, do this and they will go away. Migraines are brought on sometimes by environmental reasons. However, the reason I have migraines is because I was designed to have them. That is what I said I was designed to have that particular struggle. I realize that is a bold statement. However, I have paperwork proving it. I have what is called an inverted chromosome on 11. Did that surprise me? No.
What is an inverted chromosome did you say? Good question. Well a chromosome is a pattern of information like this: ABCABCABC. When you have an inverted chromosome it goes something like this: ABCCBAABC. Inverted. The geneticists haven't quite figured out what all that means. They have figured out that it can cause deletions and additions in the genetic code. With the research I have done it happens about 4% of the time. Biologically if it were half and half it should happen 100% of the time. I am sorry but God doesn't work that way. That is the missing piece that the geneticists don't have. The design element. It so happened that my girls had a deletion and an addition. That was something that was interesting to the geneticist as well. Again it is a design, not a biological issue.
Now back to the subject at hand. How can we quite possibly think that we would be designed to be flawed? It was Paul the Apostle who wrote in 2cor12:7-9 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation, for this reason, to keep me for exalting myself, there was give me a thorn of the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me-to keep me from exalting myself!8. Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.9.And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Paul goes on to say in verse 10 that when he is weak he is strong. It is very different the view Paul had about his weaknesses that the world has. He wanted it gone. However, when he found the purpose of the weakness he rejoiced in it. We can presume that Paul did what he could to find comfort. As he had told Timothy to drink wine to help with his stomach.The point here is that after realizing the purpose he was able to let it go.
I am not in a consistent search for a cure for my migraines. For me there is none. I have had 8-12 a month before. Now, Praise the Lord I get 1-2 a month. I am prepared for that day it will increase. It is easier for me to just let go of the anger of having them then be angry on top of getting migraines. I'm not going to make myself uncomfortable avoiding things because it might cause a migraine. This life causes me migraines. I know the things that for sure that give me migraines so I do avoid those things. I'm not going to continue to cut things out to make it better. As far as I'm concerned this is as good as I will be.
The same goes for my children. I know their struggles. I know that it is genetically given to them. I do not have to go around trying to find the one thing that is going to make them better. I rejoice in having that knowledge. It is not to say that they are not going to get the help they need. I will parent them to the very best of my ability. I will not make them uncomfortable trying to stifle their weaknesses that will never go away. Like myself I have to do certain things to maintain their health differently. That being said it is my job as a parent for them to understand what Paul understood. That when they are weak then they are strong, the more Christ can abound in them.
As I said I rejoice in my inverted Grace. All the better for me to say when I'm successful it is not me it is Christ.(The best part of having a genetic defect is blaming that when you do something wrong, I'm just joking) If you have a thorn it is to your advantage. It can be the staircase to Christ or it can be the ultimate tripper. I hope you use it wisely. I hope that you don't hold a worldly view of it. It is not a bad thing. I pray everyday that, yes thy grace is sufficient.
