Kimberly Rae > Quotes

“Sometimes I want to slap a sticky note on my forehead that says, “I am sick. No, I don’t look sick at this moment. But I am not faking having a disease just because I’m not in a wheelchair, and I am not a freak.” Now,”
― Kimberly Rae, Sick and Tired: Empathy, encouragement, and practical help for those suffering from chronic health problems

“Grief is not a one-time thing for people with chronic health problems. Just like people grieving the loss of a loved one find the sadness washes over them at holidays or family events or even unexpected everyday moments, we who are grieving the loss of ourselves, or our former lives, will find the feelings come at random—when someone mentions an activity we used to love, or even something as simple as spilling a glass of milk, or not being able to find our keys. It doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It means you’re human. And it’s okay. Then”
― Kimberly Rae, Sick and Tired: Empathy, encouragement, and practical help for those suffering from chronic health problems

“Why does it bother me to tell people I have health problems? Doesn’t everybody at some point? I suppose that’s the crux right there. For most people, the difference is in the “some point” part. They have a problem. They go to the doctor. Doctor fixes it. Life moves on. It was a small, annoying inconvenience. For me, and likely for you since you’re reading this, your problem is not so temporary. You’ve got it for life, or until science finds a cure, which for some diseases is as likely as winning the lottery when you haven’t even bought a ticket. So we make people nervous. Nobody wants to have a condition that affects their social outings, work choices, family life, and just general day-to-day stuff. Nobody picks that for what they want to be when they grow up. “Oh teacher!” The kindergartener excitedly raises his hand. “When I grow up, I want to have a chronic illness and have people say how strong and courageous I am for enduring it even though I don’t have any choice in the matter! Woo-hoo.” Instead,”
― Kimberly Rae, Sick and Tired: Empathy, encouragement, and practical help for those suffering from chronic health problems

“We with chronic health problems all seem to have one glaring symptom in common: major guilt. We feel badly that we’re sick in the first place, that we need help, that we have to ask for help, that we can’t keep up, do our part, and on and on it goes.”
― Kimberly Rae, You're Sick, They're Not: Relationship Help for People with Chronic Illness and Those Who Love Them

“I wish I was a kid again so everyone would be proud of me for taking a long nap. Anonymous”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“Just take each day one moment at a time and extend grace to yourself as you go. You aren't who you once were and you can't hold yourself to the same expectations as you once did.”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“I used to think I was humble because I thought so lowly of myself. God convicted me, however, with the truth that if I’m beating myself up all day, that’s actually inverted pride, because even negative self-absorption is still self-absorption.”
― Kimberly Rae, Why Doesn't God Fix It?: Shining Eternal Light on the Darkness of Chronic Illness and Any Suffering

“We must learn to live according to the truth, not our feelings. For the truth sets us free.”
― Kimberly Rae, Why Doesn't God Fix It?: Shining Eternal Light on the Darkness of Chronic Illness and Any Suffering

“A good, hearty LAUGH relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes afterward.ii”
― Kimberly Rae, Laughter for the Sick and Tired

“Some days the victory is just in enduring.”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“For those of us with chronic illness, we’ve had to give up some or all of those freedoms. And they probably didn’t seem like freedoms at the time. We likely took them for granted until our bodies took them from us. Now here we are, active brains inside limited, broken bodies. But as technology has yet to create a way to get an entire body transplant, we’re stuck with it. Unless, of course, you have a neurological problem, as I think I might, in which case I’m sorry about your brain. Getting a brain transplant is a seriously bad idea. You would not even know who you were, and would not appreciate how much better you were feeling. I”
― Kimberly Rae, Sick and Tired: Empathy, encouragement, and practical help for those suffering from chronic health problems

“Special events are not a vacation for us. Rather than a getaway from our stressors, they tend to inflame them and require extra work instead of offering a break.”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“We do have to make allowances and boundaries for our illnesses. But I refuse to let them steal my life. I don’t want to just exist, waiting to feel better. I want to live.”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“Healing is a process and multifaceted.”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“Truths to Remember from this Series: You are not alone. People will mess up. So will you. Move on. It’s not your responsibility to convince everyone your illness/symptoms are valid. Give yourself and others to God. Let yourself be helped. Less ability does not mean less worth. You are more than your illness. God has a plan for your life. God loves you deeply. Laughter truly is good medicine. Joy is a choice. Choose it!”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“Every moment without pain is a gift.”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“When I cannot read, when I cannot think, when I cannot even pray, I can trust.
J. Hudson Taylor”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“If things are tough, remember that every flower that ever bloomed had to go through a whole lot of dirt to get there. The almighty Father will use life's reverses to move you forward. So do not keep grieving about a bitter experience. The present is slipping by while you are regretting the past and worrying about the future. Barbara Johnson”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“4. Calling and updating them on the latest if the latest is depressing news. Many chronic illnesses are exacerbated by stress, so you telling them about a friend’s divorce, gloom and doom about the economy or politics, or an earthquake off the coast of Japan is going to make them worse instead of better.”
― Kimberly Rae, You're Sick, They're Not: Relationship Help for People with Chronic Illness and Those Who Love Them

“My greatest accomplishment in life will never be something I do on my own. It is simple and it is profound, and it is eternal. It is to love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength, and with all my mind, and my neighbor as myself (see Luke 10:27). To love Him this way is to trust Him. To ask Him for guidance when things are hard. To let Him be my strength not only when I am weak, but always. To know with absolute certainty anything that comes my way is already handled and I have nothing to fear. To love Him like this means I love myself too. That I love myself the way He loves me. Without condition. Loving myself even when my body fails, when my mind is cloudy and confused,”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“it’s okay to be slower. I’m only expected to be at the speed I’m designed for and equipped for in this season of my life.”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand

“The mind controls so much of the body. We are much more than flesh and blood; we are complex systems. Patients do better when they have faith that they're going to do better. That's why I always tell my patients and their families not to neglect their prayers. There's nobody I don't say that to. Ben Carson”
― Kimberly Rae, Help for the Sick & Tired: Advice, Encouragement, and Humor From Those Who Understand