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A Cure...

4/23/2017

11 Comments

 
... for loneliness according to Laura

Prior to living with ALS, loneliness was not a companion we were familiar with; but that has changed.  Loneliness has been embracing my husband for a while now so I have become intimately acquainted with it.  Like fog moves into the San Francisco Bay, loneliness crept into our lives matching the magnitude of the disease’s progression.  If we had been looking, we would have seen it coming but before we knew it, it had enveloped us.

When we received the ALS diagnosis back in 2011, the troops of friends rallied around us encouraging us with their battle cries of “You’re not alone” and “How can we help?”.  As the months of the battle turned into one year, then two, the troops began losing their enthusiasm and falling away.   As their numbers dwindled, we should have seen the fog of loneliness rolling in.

Two years seems to be a good length of time to be at war.  When the battle extends much beyond that, people begin to question, “When will this end?”  We have been in this battle for five years, eight months and 27 days.  Instead of it bolstering their enthusiasm that we are still in the fight, it seems to dampen their spirits that things haven’t come to a speedy conclusion.  The weariness of being at war for so long takes its toll on us physically and mentally, amplifying those feelings of loneliness.  It seems as if people prefer that we give up the fight so they can rally again for a brief time of mourning hoping to comfort us in our time of defeat.  We, unlike them, recognize that the battle is worth the fight no matter how long it rages on so we go it alone without the troops by our side.  Now we battle not only the disease but also attempt to quell the fog of loneliness that rolls in each time there is another setback.

Take a look at that word “loneliness".  Notice the words “one line” embedded in there?  “One” is the root cause of loneliness, as in one person, isolated, alone.  The other part of loneliness, “line” is interesting to me.  It makes me think about the lines we are unwilling to cross, lines that establish our comfort zone.  My contention is that if each of us were willing to get a little uncomfortable, perhaps we could be the light in the fog of loneliness.  It wouldn’t take much.  You may be thinking that you couldn’t possibly visit someone in Akhil’s situation because it would make you too uncomfortable.  Ok...  Perhaps a visit isn’t the only way you can connect.  How about sending a Facebook message or a text that simply says, “I am thinking of you today!”  That isn’t too much of a stretch, is it?  I guarantee the person on the receiving end of that message will smile and just for a moment will not feel so alone.  Isn’t it worth it to cross that line stepping just beyond your comfort zone?  Can you cross “one line” today to break through someone’s fog of loneliness for a moment?
  

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11 Comments
Deb
4/24/2017 04:40:22 pm

Brave of you to share this, Laura. I imagine Akhil is not the only one in your family to feel this loneliness. Please give Akhil my smile today and let him know I pray for him many times each week. And for you all.

Reply
Laura
4/24/2017 10:44:32 pm

Deb,

I will pass that on to Akhil. I know it will mean a lot to him to know that you pray for him. Hugs to you and your family!

Reply
Sharyn
4/25/2017 02:10:42 am

You have given light through darkness joy through tears of sorrow sometimes words are not enough to express the desire for a cure I admit that my prayers for you have fizzled at times now I renew them and lift you up daily for though we rarely had time together you are my brother and Laura my sister. I ask that God sustain you and cover you in love and dispel the loneliness love Sharyn

Reply
Laura Jhaveri
4/27/2017 08:29:51 pm

Thank you, Sharyn.

Reply
Teresa
4/25/2017 11:13:12 am

Laura & Akhil please know that I am and will continue to pray for both of you& the girls. May the Lord bless you & keep you. May the Lord shine His face upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you peace. Big hugs to you both!
And , once , again, please know how much I appreciate y'all working with the youth at Pitman Creek and giving so much of yourselves to encourage (as you continue to do where you are) !!! I sure do thank God for you!😘

Reply
Laura Jhaveri
4/27/2017 08:34:03 pm

Thank you, Teresa for the blessing and prayers. We recall those days at Pitman Creek with such fondness. We continued to work with the youth each place we have lived and were so blessed by that ministry. Those were good times!

Reply
Linda Allen
4/25/2017 09:35:08 pm

Thank you for sharing Laura. Think of y'all a lot and pray constantly. I also tell people about you and your story. I admire you so much. You are helping a lot of people with your journaling.
I am so sorry you are feeling the loneliness now. When we lost our son in '87 I also felt it. Everyone would rally around us at first, and then "call us if you need anything", & then they would remember the day we lost him & let me know & in a year or so not even that anymore. Within just a few months I began to feel the loneliness. In defense of everyone around us, I firmly believe they do not know what to say, so therefor it is just easier not to be around us. 30 years later that is still the way it is.
I pray for Peace of Mind for you and for the Lord to surround you with HIS love. Please feel the warmth as I send a HUG to you & Akhil. Please tell him we love you all and are remembering our days at Lafayette. God Bless You All.

Reply
Laura Jhaveri
4/27/2017 08:40:43 pm

It was so good to hear from you, Linda! Thank you for continuing to lift us up in prayer. I agree that many of us are ill-equipped to minister to those in times of illness and loss. Hopefully, my girls and I are learning how to help others having been on this side of things. I think of you all every summer at KidsFest time! We had a lot of great times at Lafayette! Thanks for staying in touch.

Reply
Sally and Richard Seng link
5/6/2017 11:59:54 pm

We would love to visit with Akhil. He is a joy to be around and we always love praying and talking with him and Laura. So let us know when a good time for a visit will be. Also can we do anything else to help, a dinner an errand a beak for Laura, clean your home just name it. Akhil my brother in Christ I am still asking Jesus how to pray effectively for your healing. There is a root cause in the spiritual realm. Last night I was reading the Hydrogen Peroxide Medical Miracle by Dr William Campbell Douglas. He has many accounts of the healing of MS, Lupus, Cancer , infections etc with intravenous H2O2 therapy, it restores the oxgen to the cells. Have you contacted Dr. Henry Wright's Ministry they have had great success in dealing with the spiritual roots of diseases here their website contact them, he is a medical Dr. http://www.beinhealth.com/about/our-story/. We love you and want to see you healed and made whole again just as Jesus designed your body to be. Sally and Richard Seng

Reply
Laura
5/7/2017 06:17:14 pm

Sally and Richard, Thank you for your persistent prayers on behalf of Akhil. We will set up a time soon for you to come visit!

Reply
Sally Seng link
5/8/2017 11:02:57 am

Thanks looking forwas to hearing back from you.

Sally




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    The video is Akhil's journey with ALS.  Painful to see but the faith his family shows is uplifting.
    ​
    God continues to show his love for us through his people.  Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us, prayed for us, visited Akhil, brought us a meal and served us however God led you to serve.  Continue to follow those urgings from God in serving those who are struggling.

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    Akhil and Laura Jhaveri

    Applying the skills they've learned in over 20 years of marriage, this couple faces the challenges of ALS together. MND or motor neuron disease is deadly with no known cure.  The Jhaveri family has to endure this battle and show the world God's love!

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