Please do not cry for me
as now my soul is free
This way my life, is meant to be
Lessons learned,
to teach in turn
His perfect peace
and love divine.

God lends us courage,
strength, tolerance and love.
To learn lessons
borne above.
To have faith in believing
everything
happens for a reason.

We each have our
own cross to bear
Just like Jesus',
ours will set us free
to love unselfishly
as God meant love to be.

Along this journey I am well-
not in body, but in Spirit
His love causes my heart to swell
not with my own pride
or for my benefit
I give glory to God
-my will permit-
His work to continue through
the lessons I learn:
Jesus bore his cross to set me free,
to learn to live unselfishly.

My difficult life,
much like His own
is how I learned Love,
and found my own.

Brenda Brown lives with lupus and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and has a son, 17, who lives with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and CFS. She lives in OK with her husband and son. She wrote the above in response to a friend who said that she "did not deserve" her illness. "I know God loves us all and does not punish us with illness, we can grow through adversity and share our lessons and witness to others."

Reprinted from ...And He Will Give You Rest
monthly support newsletter, Volume 5, Issue 6. ©