My family in 2021: Melissa, Abigail, Sara, Micah, Brandon (a.k.a. Superman)

You might have a chronic illness. You might bear wounds from your past, but you aren’t stuck. You aren’t doomed to a miserable existence. In Christ, you can live a fruitful life, rich in abundance and full of joy. How do I know?

Let me tell you my story.

Allergies had plagued me all my life, but in late 2004 something went horribly wrong. I sat watching a Christmas movie with my parents, sister, and husband of four months. We were all popping pistachios, and my throat began to swell. That night, I suffered my first anaphylactic reaction. Many similar reactions would follow.

By early 2006, I had lost entire groups of foods and had become more sensitive to environmental triggers. Allergy shots didn’t help. Rather than being able to increase the amount of allergen in each injection, my immunologist continually decreased the amount while my reactions to the injections grew more extreme, sometimes culminating in anaphylaxsis that would require epinephrine.

The Search for Answers

I developed asthma and began carrying an inhaler and an Epi-pen wherever I went, in addition to the Benadryl I’d carried for years. When I became pregnant with my son in 2008, I ended treatment for the sake of us both.

After the birth of my daughter, Sara, in November 2011, my health collapsed to the point that I could only eat a handful of foods, I couldn’t leave my house without risking my life, and I had regular anaphylactic reactions, not only to foods but also to substances I touched and inhaled. Life was crazy.

No one knew what was wrong with me. I saw specialist after specialist. Most tried to help. Some thought I was crazy. Everything we tried backfired. In the search for answers and tolerable treatment, I was prescribed a fluoroquinolone drug, which led to cellular damage, increased sensitivity to foods and smells, and stronger, more frequent reactions.

A local natural doctor, who later became my friend, did her best to clean up a mess she didn’t make. She tirelessly sought for answers and effective treatment until she developed an acupressure treatment in an effort to save my life. It worked! She taught my husband to perform the treatment at home, which continued to save my life many times over. Regular treatments helped me to stabilize and decreased the severity and frequency of my reactions.

2013 was a rough year, but I survived and pressed hard into my Savior, who came through for me in heaping measures of grace. In 2014, a nutritional therapist, who also became my friend, created a nutrient-dense, autoimmune paleo, low-histamine eating plan set on a four-day rotation just for me. We added rice, and I was able to gain weight and stabilize enough to make a trip to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN during May 2014, where I learned the name of my disease—mast cell activation syndrome.

Joy in the Trial

Mast cell activation syndrome has no cure, and because I couldn’t tolerate fillers in medication, only one prescribed drug panned out. Gastrocrom (ingestible cromolyn sodium) made eating so much easier. Before Gastrocrom, I found myself in the fetal position sweating from pain after every meal. Within a few weeks of taking it three times each day, post-mealtime misery happened only a couple of times per week.

In many ways, I improved in 2014. I gained weight. There were only a couple of close brushes with death. I survived an ant sting without too much drama. My closest friend died after a hard battle with cancer, and I didn’t die along with her.

The Holy Spirit of God blessed me in such a way that I experienced more joy than I’d ever known in my life despite the fact that I was still very sick. Moreover, he gave me a ministry inside my tiny mobile home. He sent people to me. They would call, message, and jump through all the hoops required to safely visit me in order to receive prayer. Even in my sickness, I prayed for others and saw God heal them.

In other ways, I grew worse. A reaction to peanuts almost killed me that year, and then I began reacting to the cold outdoors and cold items I touched. Cooking became a literal pain because my hands broke out in welts whenever I handled food that had been in the refrigerator. Life happened. I experienced an emotional trauma. My husband didn’t get the promotion he’d been working for since before we’d married. Finances were tight. My son suffered reactions of his own. Things were hard, plain and simple.

Depression nearly swallowed me whole in January 2015. I disconnected from my blog and all social media and spent a lot of time sleeping and staring blankly at the ceiling. But the Spirit of God hovered over me, ministering to me, nourishing me back to mental health. When I was strong enough, I reclined in bed and began to write what would become my first book, Eleora. By the second re-write, I was able to sit. By the end of the third draft, I was ready to reconnect with my friends on social media.

Seeking Community

God spoke to me when the book was complete. “Seek community,” he said. I began with church, which was a disaster. If you have sensitivities to fragrances, church is a minefield. If you wear a mask, you feel like Bubble Boy every time you go out in public. There was also that Sunday I reacted to the air conditioning. That was fun. Church, for me, wasn’t the answer. But I found the answer by going to church.

I’d heard of a group of people who met during the early service to pray. By the time I checked into the group, they no longer met on Sunday mornings, but the leader invited me to attend a Friday night meeting in someone’s home. There would be food and lots of people. It was a risk, but I took it. Brandon drove me, in case something happened.

This group took me in, loved me, and ministered to me. During a prayer session just before Thanksgiving in November 2015, I had a powerful encounter with God that led to a miraculous measure of healing. Symptom after symptom disappeared. By May of 2016, there was no trace of mast cell anything in my body.

Where I Am Today

And yet, I’m not completely well. Today, I still suffer from food sensitivities, though they’re relatively mild, seasonal allergies, and seasonal depression. I see a rheumatologist for joint pain, stiffness, and erosion. Thankfully, I haven’t been diagnosed with another incurable disease, and I don’t plan to be, but my doctor suspects we’re looking at the early stages of one. I take a daily probiotic, a daily Claritin tablet, an antidepressant, and Plaquenil to treat joint erosion. I function best on a Whole 30 diet, regular exercise, and 8 hours of sleep. But then again, who doesn’t?

Even with my limited energy levels, I’m able to serve the Lord as a wife, homeschool mom of three, foster mom, tutor, prayer minister, and author. There’s this constant back and forth of giving and receiving between Jesus and me. He gives me grace and health, and I lay it down at his feet the best I’m able.

While healing is important and I believe we should see more of it than we presently do, intimacy with Christ is vital. Joy is crucial. Fruitfulness is the aim. If I can in any way help you become more intimate with Christ, more joyful in him, or more fruitful in your kingdom work, that would be a blessing.

Come along with me. Together, let’s discover all God has for us on the road to Jubilee.

If you would like to read more of my story, you can find it in my newest release, The Road to Jubilee.