What if Small Fiber-Neuropathy IS God's Plan A? With April Barcalow

What if Small Fiber-Neuropathy IS God's Plan A? With April Barcalow

Your life can be turned upside down by symptoms that never fit neatly into a chart, and that uncertainty can quietly reshape everything: your faith, your marriage, your work, and even how you walk into a grocery store. We talk with registered nurse, mom, and author April Barcalow about living with celiac disease, small fiber neuropathy, and long seasons of debilitating fatigue and weakness that still do not have a full explanation. April gets painfully practical about what a gluten-free life really costs, including cross-contamination stress, social isolation around food, and the constant planning that healthy people never see. We also dig into pacing and chronic illness self-management, why scheduled rest is not selfish, and how accessibility choices at home and at work can reduce the severity of a crash. Her wheelchair stories are honest and surprisingly funny, but the takeaway is serious: mobility aids can create freedom, presence, and real family memories. We also go deeper into Christian chronic illness questions: how do you trust God when tests stay negative, specialists “break up” with you, and healing does not come the way people promise? April shares the sentence she clings to, the ways suffering has formed her prayer life, and how chronic illness can feel like a third person in a marriage. If you’re a caregiver, a spouse, a medical professional, or someone with invisible illness who just wants to feel understood, this conversation offers language, perspective, and hope. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more listeners can find Christians with Chronic Illnesses. What part of your chronic illness story feels hardest to explain? Follow April's Writing here: https://aprilbarcalow.com/ [https://aprilbarcalow.com/] * https://www.patreon.com/c/CWCIpodcast * https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support] Purchase here: https://a.co/d/6dM3f89 Music for The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler Ad: https://uppbeat.io/t/prigida/sketch-book License code: FFWQZDUHONOHPA8O Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support] *  Share your story: CWCIPodcast@gmail.com * Contribute towards the production of Christians With Chronic Illnesses: * https://www.patreon.com/c/CWCIpodcast * Follow us: *  Facebook: Christians With Chronic Illnesses * TikTok, IG, X, Threads, Twitch, & YouTube: @CWCIPodcast *  Discord Support Group https://discord.gg/ZaWMkbGSty [https://discord.gg/ZaWMkbGSty?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExWm9hc2ZkSGNUdWFmS0kweAEeb73hej37RqQI2MzURTLiYrPI7HADaOZe_VuxnIagMBq-vilZ6N3r_kf7Aow_aem_rYIbI4HuaLFW_uUY5lH2hA]  * Visit our website * https://cwcipodcast-shop.fourthwall.com/

God "Told" Me to be a Missionary and Then I Got Sick with L. A. Sprague

When you’re convinced God gave you a specific assignment, it can become your whole identity. And when chronic illness shows up and takes your capacity, it can feel like you didn’t just lose a dream, you lost your direction, your faith confidence, and maybe even your sense of worth. I’m L. A. Sprague, and I’m naming that grief out loud.  I talk through the Pentecostal idea of confirmation, especially the “three signs” framework that many charismatic Christians use to make decisions. I share how that theology shaped me as a teenager reading about persecuted Christians and martyrdom, and how I came to believe God was calling me to a specific city overseas. That belief drove a decade of choices: missions training, learning Arabic, teaching English, and studying abroad in Jordan, all wrapped up in a single future I thought I had to obey.  Then POTS and depression changed everything. I open up about the crash, the practical realities of needing accommodations, the sting of workplace ableism, and the spiritual spiral that follows when you’re not able to do the thing you once called “obedience.” From there, I offer the shift I’m living into now: calling is not one fragile destination. Calling is love. Love God with what you have today, love your neighbor with what you can carry today, and yes, love yourself enough to rest.  If you’re a chronically ill Christian or you’re deconstructing parts of your faith while trying to survive your symptoms, I hope you feel seen here. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people living with chronic illness can find this community. * https://www.patreon.com/c/CWCIpodcast * https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support] Purchase here: https://a.co/d/6dM3f89 Music for The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler Ad: https://uppbeat.io/t/prigida/sketch-book License code: FFWQZDUHONOHPA8O Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support] *  Share your story: CWCIPodcast@gmail.com * Contribute towards the production of Christians With Chronic Illnesses: * https://www.patreon.com/c/CWCIpodcast * Follow us: *  Facebook: Christians With Chronic Illnesses * TikTok, IG, X, Threads, Twitch, & YouTube: @CWCIPodcast *  Discord Support Group https://discord.gg/ZaWMkbGSty [https://discord.gg/ZaWMkbGSty?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExWm9hc2ZkSGNUdWFmS0kweAEeb73hej37RqQI2MzURTLiYrPI7HADaOZe_VuxnIagMBq-vilZ6N3r_kf7Aow_aem_rYIbI4HuaLFW_uUY5lH2hA]  * Visit our website * https://cwcipodcast-shop.fourthwall.com/

Adenomyosis, Endometriosis, and Lament with Therapist Sharkia O'Garro

Pain can make you question everything you thought you knew about God and it can also make you feel painfully unseen by the people around you. I sit down with Shakira “Kira” O'Garro, a licensed mental health counselor who serves Christians navigating medical trauma, chronic pain, and the kind of faith crisis that often stays unspoken in church. Kira shares her own story of coming to Jesus after years of atheism while living with severe stage four endometriosis, plus what it’s like to keep believing when your body feels unpredictable and unfair. We get practical and specific about endometriosis and adenomyosis: what the stages mean, how symptoms can show up across the whole body, why surgery can be necessary yet still not a cure, and how misinformation around hysterectomy can leave patients grieving and confused. Along the way, Kira names the real spiritual questions that come with chronic illness and infertility, and why those questions don’t disqualify you from God’s love. A big focus is lament. We talk about lament as honest sorrow brought to God, how it differs from complaining, and why “God, I’m angry” can be a holy starting point. Kira also brings in evidence-based mental health tools from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, emotional awareness, and self-compassion practices that help you process grief without letting chronic illness become your identity. If you need language for suffering and a path back to hope, this conversation makes space for both. Subscribe for more honest stories, share this with a friend who feels alone, and leave a review so others can find Christians With Chronic Illnesses. * https://www.patreon.com/c/CWCIpodcast * https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support] Purchase here: https://a.co/d/6dM3f89 Music for The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler Ad: https://uppbeat.io/t/prigida/sketch-book License code: FFWQZDUHONOHPA8O Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support] *  Share your story: CWCIPodcast@gmail.com * Contribute towards the production of Christians With Chronic Illnesses: * https://www.patreon.com/c/CWCIpodcast * Follow us: *  Facebook: Christians With Chronic Illnesses * TikTok, IG, X, Threads, Twitch, & YouTube: @CWCIPodcast *  Discord Support Group https://discord.gg/ZaWMkbGSty [https://discord.gg/ZaWMkbGSty?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExWm9hc2ZkSGNUdWFmS0kweAEeb73hej37RqQI2MzURTLiYrPI7HADaOZe_VuxnIagMBq-vilZ6N3r_kf7Aow_aem_rYIbI4HuaLFW_uUY5lH2hA]  * Visit our website * https://cwcipodcast-shop.fourthwall.com/

How My Pentecostal Upbringing Helped and Hurt my Health with L. A. Sprague

Some church teachings feel like oxygen when you’re suffering and others quietly teach you to blame yourself for pain you never chose. We’re sharing a deeply personal story from my upbringing in Pentecostal and charismatic spaces, where the Holy Spirit felt close, worship was expressive, and healing was treated as something you could reach for with enough faith. That kind of Christianity can be full of wonder and hope, and we don’t want to dismiss what’s beautiful about it. We also need to name what happens when chronic illness enters the picture and the promised outcomes don’t arrive. We talk through how “name it and claim it” thinking and prosperity gospel assumptions can create spiritual shame for people with chronic illness, disability, and mental health struggles. We share an embarrassing culture shock moment at a Baptist school, then dig into a childhood “healing” story around food allergies and why I no longer interpret it as a clean miracle. As an adult living with POTS, major depressive disorder, and likely MCAS, I’m learning how fluctuating symptoms and complex diagnoses can complicate the testimonies we build and the certainty we cling to. We also wrestle with the hard, honest question: if God can heal, why doesn’t He heal everyone? I explain why I’m choosing acceptance without self-condemnation and staying open to prayer while refusing the lie that chronic illness is my fault. If you’ve ever felt pressured to perform joy, blamed for not being healed, or exhausted by spiritualized answers, you’re not alone. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and if the conversation resonates, leave a review so more chronically ill Christians can find this community. * https://www.patreon.com/c/CWCIpodcast * https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support] Purchase here: https://a.co/d/6dM3f89 Music for The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler Ad: https://uppbeat.io/t/prigida/sketch-book License code: FFWQZDUHONOHPA8O Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support] *  Share your story: CWCIPodcast@gmail.com * Contribute towards the production of Christians With Chronic Illnesses: * https://www.patreon.com/c/CWCIpodcast * Follow us: *  Facebook: Christians With Chronic Illnesses * TikTok, IG, X, Threads, Twitch, & YouTube: @CWCIPodcast *  Discord Support Group https://discord.gg/ZaWMkbGSty [https://discord.gg/ZaWMkbGSty?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExWm9hc2ZkSGNUdWFmS0kweAEeb73hej37RqQI2MzURTLiYrPI7HADaOZe_VuxnIagMBq-vilZ6N3r_kf7Aow_aem_rYIbI4HuaLFW_uUY5lH2hA]  * Visit our website * https://cwcipodcast-shop.fourthwall.com/

Panic Attacks, Deconstruction, and Gluten-Free Donuts with Lexi Grey

A seizure in airport security, a college freshman year shaped by fear, and a long road through brain fog, pain flares, and panic attacks! We talk with Lexi about what it’s like to live as a Christian with chronic illness when your body feels unpredictable and your mind is exhausted from staying on alert. Her story holds the tension so many of us feel: trusting God while still needing real medical care, real coping skills, and real people who show up.  Lexi walks us through her health journey with epilepsy, fibromyalgia, chronic migraines, IgA deficiency, and Chiari malformation, including what seizures can look like, why prevention matters as an adult, and how life decisions like driving, work, and future plans get complicated fast. We also get practical about the messy process of finding the right medications, what happened when a misdiagnosis led to the wrong prescription, and why gene testing can be worth considering when side effects hit hard.  We go deep on mental health with honesty and care: anxiety, major depressive disorder, CPTSD, therapy over many years, EMDR, and the reality that antidepressants and anxiety meds can be life-giving but require support. Lexi shares a simple plan that can protect you during med changes: pick safe people from different parts of your life and ask them to check in, because you may not be able to reach out first. We also talk about chronic illness and faith, deconstruction and reconstruction, and the kind of joy that does not deny reality, plus Psalms that can become your borrowed words when you cannot find your own.  If you’ve been looking for a Christian chronic illness podcast that mixes faith with practical mental health and chronic pain support, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share it with a friend who’s struggling, and leave a review so more people can find this community. * https://www.patreon.com/c/CWCIpodcast * https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support] Purchase here: https://a.co/d/6dM3f89 Music for The Supernatural Case of an Accidental Time Traveler Ad: https://uppbeat.io/t/prigida/sketch-book License code: FFWQZDUHONOHPA8O Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2552643/support] *  Share your story: CWCIPodcast@gmail.com * Contribute towards the production of Christians With Chronic Illnesses: * https://www.patreon.com/c/CWCIpodcast * Follow us: *  Facebook: Christians With Chronic Illnesses * TikTok, IG, X, Threads, Twitch, & YouTube: @CWCIPodcast *  Discord Support Group https://discord.gg/ZaWMkbGSty [https://discord.gg/ZaWMkbGSty?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExWm9hc2ZkSGNUdWFmS0kweAEeb73hej37RqQI2MzURTLiYrPI7HADaOZe_VuxnIagMBq-vilZ6N3r_kf7Aow_aem_rYIbI4HuaLFW_uUY5lH2hA]  * Visit our website * https://cwcipodcast-shop.fourthwall.com/