Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Don’t sweat the ‘dog days’

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 1 Peter 4:12-13

As August slowly sets in, I hopefully anticipate the end of the dog days of summer. That sticky, nauseating heat that makes you want to stay in the air conditioning all the time and creates a longing for autumn. It brings to your mind the faint scent of apples, pumpkin pie and bonfires. For those of us living in the Ozarks, it recalls the tree-filled hills splashed with yellows, reds, oranges and purples. Fall is truly a beautiful time to be alive!

The heat has been especially difficult for me this year as I navigate life with Myasthenia Gravis. For me, heat is not simply an inconvenience. If I am not careful, it can trigger flares of extreme muscle weakness, fatigue and even life-threatening breathing and swallowing problems. At this time last year, I was out running my mobile shaved ice trailer getting to spread smiles with refreshing, colorful, sweetened ice. I was also outside working in my garden almost daily—a hobby that helps me feel peaceful, fulfilled and closer to my Creator. Little did I know that these very things—activities that gave me a sense of accomplishment and purpose—would contribute to a severe exacerbation of the underlying illness I didn’t even know I had yet. 

Now, before you think I am writing a “whoa-is-me” type of article, I hope you will read on. That is not to say that I haven’t spent a lot of time in the mulligrubs, because I have. I have grieved the loss of things I once called certain. I have experienced the panic of fighting for my next breath. I have laid in bed for days on end crying and asking God why he would allow a person with such a drive for life to feel so defeated and useless. And it was in the sweltering heat of this trial that God redirected my life and put me on the path He had been planning for me since before my birth. Amid my cries for physical healing, He began to unravel and heal inner traumas I had never been able to let go of before. He deepened my intimacy with Him and helped me overcome some old habits and hang-ups that were keeping me from living in freedom and victory. Though the daily struggle with MG is still very real, my days are more often filled with hope, joy, peace and a deep, inner sense of autumn’s breezes cooling my skin and filling my lungs. 

Like the three Hebrew men who were thrown into the squelching furnace meant to take them out, I can sense Another in the fire with me. I know that He will not only sustain me but help me emerge completely unsinged—saturated in the fragrance of His presence instead of smoke. I am finding that sometimes the heat is required to, as Paul wrote, “make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Heb 13:21).

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for using the fiery trials the enemy means for our destruction to launch us into seasons of refreshing and purpose!