2020: Week 5 (sort of)

This week is a little different because we’re now officially in February! And February is Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) Awareness Month. I think it’s been three years since I was diagnosed. The timeline is blurry in my mind because my retina specialist monitored it for about a year before RP became official. I’ve written about it before, so I won’t bore you with the details now.

I don’t have any updates about my RP because it’s holding steady, praise God! I ask that you say a prayer for me, though. I’ll have my next appointment in March. I haven’t noticed any vision changes, which is a good indicator of little to no progression.

I also want to thank you for your prayers and support. This is not what I expected life to look like — pun intended — but my faith in God’s goodness and faithfulness has grown stronger by experiencing this. God has used several of you to bless my heart, ways you may not even realize had an impact: leading me in the dark, leaving lights on so that I can see, providing better sunglasses for me, telling me when there’s an extra step so that I don’t bust my face falling up or down the stairs. Those things matter, and I’m grateful for all your help. God used you, even if you didn’t realize it, so thank you for being obedient!

Quick goals update

This week brought me to the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus. Exodus is interesting. It frustrates me when the Israelites begin complaining. Yet it also challenges me because I’m a lot like them. My faith falters, too. My trust in God fails, too. I’ve seen God work in mighty ways, but I still have to ask God to help my unbelief. I have to read back over my journal entries and remind myself of who God is. All that to say, I try not to judge the Israelites because I’ll end up convicted.

Also, this week brought Jen Wilkin’s new study of Hebrews to my small group. I love Wilkin’s studies and her commitment to Bible literacy. Her focus is on loving God with our minds — emphasis on our minds. She encourages you to wrestle with the text on your own before turning to podcasts, commentaries, or articles, and I appreciate that. I agree with her that it’s important we become active learners rather than passive ones. We need to work to develop those skills for ourselves, and her studies help us do that.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!