One Little Ragamuffin: Choosing Joy & Remembering Sara Frankl

A few weeks ago, I finished one of those sticks-with-you-for-always kind of books.

I planned to pass it along sooner but I managed to break my brain and that caused a slight rain delay. ;)

Anyway, several years ago, I used to read this wonderful blog written by Sara Frankl:

http://gitzengirl.blogspot.com/?m=1

She lived with several chronic autoimmune illnesses and ended up being confined to her apartment for the last few years of her life because she had life threatening allergic reactions to many foods, medications, and outside elements.

She also lived in severe pain.

However, her blog was so uplifting and insightful and I was amazed at her faith and her spirit.

If you look through it now, you have to go back to 2011 to find Sara's writing.

Her family has kept it going since she passed away when she was only 38.

Oddly, when I was reading it as she was writing, I was perfectly healthy.

Now, I too understand the chronic illness life.

Maybe that's why I was meant to find Sara in the first place, to see how she still was such a light no matter how sick she was. It is so encouraging and inspiring to me now.

Her primary diagnosis, ankylosing spondylitis, is one of my secondary diagnosis. Mine is much less severe and it is just miserable at times so I can't begin to fathom how much she suffered with it.

All that said, I was really excited when I learned that one of her dear friends had collected some of her writings into a book:

And it couldn't have come at a better time for me.

Sara wrote often not only about choosing joy in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in but also in accepting those circumstances as where God has allowed us to be and knowing that He has a purpose for us in them.

She also wrote often about knowing that God will provide all that we need.

Though I know these truths and believe them wholeheartedly, during sickly times, extra encouragement is always appreciated.

One of many underlined "favorite" passages: