undiagnosed — Nicole O'Meara | Blog

Touch, and my need for it, has highlighted what I’ve known for years: As a person living with a rare and undiagnosed disease, I have a deep need to be understood.

Jesus is fully human and fully God. He is all-knowing, the only One who can understand the physical, mental, and emotional struggles you experience. And he is all-powerful, the only One who cannot be overwhelmed by your need.

The comfort is this: The One who wept at the death of his friend, weeps for your pain also. The same One who touched the leper, can touch you too. In your pain and need, you are understood, completely, by Jesus.

BlogNicole O'MearaMarch 12, 2021undiagnosed, rare disease, chronic diseaseComment

God in the Age of Compassion Fatigue

Compassion Fatigue is defined as a condition characterized by emotional, physical, and spiritual exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others. It is not a disease; it is a set of symptoms, most notably exhaustion, depression, a strong feeling of helplessness, and chronic stress.

Not only do we not want our caregivers to experience Compassion Fatigue, we don’t want to live life without compassionate caregivers!

Compassion Fatigue is real because humans are limited. No matter how kind and compassionate a person is, no matter how healthy their self-care routines are, every person has a limit to their compassion. But God is infinite. 2 Corinthians 1:3 calls God, “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” God will never experience Compassion Fatigue.

BlogNicole O'MearaSeptember 7, 2020undiagnosed, chronic disease, caregiver, pandemic, compassionComment

Practice Remembering: Help for Isolation-Induced Thinking

I’ve noticed a fascinating thread through sanctifying life events: isolation. If I told you the story of each of those events (and perhaps I will one day), I would tell you that circumstances forced me to go through pieces of those events alone. And in each event, that aloneness drew me closer to Jesus, because He was the only one who could truly, fully be with me for the duration. As He drew me near to Him, I learned more about Him and that knowledge changed me.

That’s the crux. Sanctification happens when we learn more of God’s character.

BlogNicole O'MearaJuly 21, 2020grace, chronic, undiagnosed, pandemic, sanctifiation Comment

Video Conversation with Katherine Smith on Invasive Pulmonary Aspergilliosis

Blogger and undiagnosed disease survivor, Katherine Smith, bubbles over with joy. How does she do that? Well, it’s a God-thing.

We chat about living with chronic illness (Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis and Adrenal Fatigue), life behind a face mask, and how our community can best support us during times of isolation.

Blog, VideoNicole O'MearaMarch 13, 2020undiagnosed, rare disease, chronic disease, interviewComment

Surrender, The Hardest Choice

Isolation is a common feeling among survivor/fighters of rare disease. To choose to stay home during cold and flu season brings further isolation. But it is a choice I am free to make because the power of God living in me enables me to say No to the selfish desires of my heart and Yes, to his best plan for me.

Surrendering your desire is the hardest choice you can make. With God, it is possible.

BlogNicole O'MearaJanuary 17, 2020rare disease, undiagnosed, isolation, sacrifice, choices, acceptanceComment

Five New Year's Questions for Rare Disease and Chronic Illness Fighters

As a survivor/fighter of an undiagnosed disease, making New Year’s resolutions raises apprehension in my soul. To make a resolution feels risky. Any goal taken seriously enough to write down in ink is just another thing that I may have to grieve later. But flipping the perspective from goal-setting to goal-contemplating… well, that I can do.

Here are five questions (based on Donald Whitney's 10 Questions) to ask in the new year, specifically for those fighting rare, undiagnosed, and chronic diseases.

BlogNicole O'MearaJanuary 1, 2020Spiritual Formation, rare disease, undiagnosedComment

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