This beautiful story is from @Whitnoel04 ! Check out her Instagram page and her blog- www.splendidlifewithwhitney.com
My name is Whitney. I’m a 24 year old wife to my high school sweetheart and momma to a busy 20 month old. I grew up in church, surrounded by my entire family. I attended Sunday school, youth group, bible study, etc. It wasn’t until I became an adult that my faith was truly tested.
My boyfriend (now husband) and I broke up after a year of being in a long distance relationship. My world shattered. I didn’t have a close relationship with God at the time. It was at that tragic time that I turned to Him. He was the only one that brought me peace. I knew that I needed to stay close to him even after I healed from the pain of a broken heart. Fast forward a couple years. I’m married, with a precious baby. I ended my career as a professional Nanny to be a stay at home mom.
We still needed extra income so I opened an in home daycare. It didn’t happen over night but after about a year I was burnt out. I was taking care of everyone else and left nothing for myself. The stress, lack of sleep and not getting adequate nutrition made me sick.
I lost 16 pounds in 3 months. I was nauseous, had headaches, extremely fatigued, joint pain, loss of appetite, stomach pain and I could stay out of the bathroom. After 3 months of anxiety and fear I had been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, an autoimmune disease that causes bleeding ulcers in the colon. In that moment when I heard my diagnosis I had never felt more alone.
But then I remembered Jesus. He knows my pain. He knows my suffering. He bleed. He suffered. He died on the cross so that one day all of my pain here on Earth will be gone when I’m with Him in Heaven. That gives me hope. That gives me heart peace. I still struggle with accepting my diagnosis. Jesus calls me to be a light for Him. That’s why I started a blog. So that I can share my story in the hopes of helping someone else.