Relationships

In 2022, a team at Harvard University provided the strongest evidence to date that the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) is a trigger for MS. Now, an international team reports that CD4+ T cells (an important immune cell involved in MS) from people with MS respond about twice as strongly to specific EBV proteins produced during active viral infection compared with people without MS. These heightened responses were not seen for other common viruses, suggesting a unique relationship between EBV and MS.

www.nationalmssociety.org/news-and-magazine/news/link-ebv-ms

#MultipleSclerosis #MightyTogether

For as long as I can remember, food was always my enemy. It wasn’t about nourishment. I can’t even say I enjoyed it. Food was a bribe. Trickery. Quid pro quo. I give you treats and you do something for me. After years of this, I surrendered. I conformed. I was like a trained animal. And I thought I was being a good girl. Pretty soon, food started to fill the emptiness. And it was my only friend. I didn’t have any self esteem. Going through therapy these last 8 years has raised my self worth. I’m learning to have a healthy relationship with food. I make healthier choices. I enjoy what I’m eating. I’ve lost over a hundred pounds in 15 months. I feel great, and people tell me I look good too. I believe food is meant to be enjoyed. Bon appetit!

Sometimes, what's growing around us is what's keeping us from making progress.
Can you look around today and identify a habit, relationship, friendship, media we are consuming, or thought patterns that are hurtful?
#AutismSpectrumDisorder #ADHD #Anxiety #Agoraphobia #ADHD #BingeEatingDisorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #BipolarDepression #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #CeliacDisease #Depression #Epilepsy #EatingDisorder #KidneyDisease #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Cancers #Grief #Lupus #Migraine #SensoryProcessingDisorder #ChildLoss #POTS #PTSD #Trauma #Suicide #Schizophrenia #SjogrensSyndrome #RestlessLegsSyndrome #Endometriosis #InterstitialCystitis #HearingLoss #Deafness #SuicidalThoughts #Selfcare #Selfharm #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #JointHypermobilitySyndrome

It’s crazy to me, the assumptions that people automatically make when I divulge that I’m a Christian.

That it was simply the path of least resistance. That I was born into a church-going home and adopted viewpoints that I never questioned. That I’m sheltered, close-minded, and would surely leave the faith if I’d open my eyes.

The truth is, becoming a Christian went against everything my parents taught me. I lost all of my friends. My high school creative writing teacher tried to de-convert me. Nothing in my environment supported my decision. It was hard. I have never regretted it.

I taught a mini sermon on The Book of Ruth Saturday for leadership class at church. What struck me was how Ruth left everything comfortable and familiar in Moab to follow Naomi and be with God’s people. Naomi begged her to stay back. She wanted to spare Ruth the isolation and rejection she would surely face.

Of course, Ruth’s story has a miraculous, very happy ending. But what if she was an outcast in Bethlehem, and died lonely? That would be so sad. But ultimately, she would gain a reward in eternity that would never have happened if she stayed back with Orpah in Moab.

My son shared a message with me today by a woman named Farmer Girl on Facebook. This passage especially struck me:

“Following Christ may cost you comfort. It may cost you popularity. It may cost you opportunities, relationships, or dreams you thought your life would include. For many believers around the world, it still costs their freedom and even their lives.

But it will never cost more than Christ is worth.

The safest place you will ever be is not the place with the fewest problems.

It is the place where you are faithfully walking with the One who has overcome the world.”

#Bipolar #Depression #GAD #OCD # PTSD