It’s been a whirlwind of a past few days—er or years. I haven’t written much about about our family recently, but to be honest, we are still walking in the wilderness. We left Alaska a few months ago, after struggling with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/Environmental Illness.

Our youngest and I were especially ill, but all four of us were definitely not well-so much so, we thought death was knocking on our door if we didn’t get out before winter hit.

This wasn’t new to us. As mentioned in previous posts, we left a home with toxic mold in 2018 after it made us extremely sick. It’s been five years since we left that nightmare, yet that was really only the beginning. We are still being affected, having become hypersensitive to not only mold, but other environmental toxins that plague cities and small towns alike. Finding clothing, bedding, and household items that we can tolerate without too many chemicals is a whole other challenge in and of itself that we deal with constantly. It has been very difficult to tolerate conventional housing and we’ve had to move more times than I can count in the past five years, trying to find air that we can stand to breath and housing livable enough for us. Our world has become so toxic, most aren’t even aware of the number of chemicals and toxins we are taking in at one time, and how it’s affecting our health. For us and our doctors though, it has become obvious.

For the past few months, we have been going downhill health-wise, but the kicker was on Friday. On that day, our youngest and I were so ill at our cabin in Utah. We watched the air quality climb to the unhealthy number of 150. It was our bodies though, taking in those toxins, that were the first to notice. And boy, did they take notice of that poison.

This poison settles in the valleys of Utah, holding the pollution down and appearing like L.A. on a bad day. Apparently, these inversions are common in the winter in Utah, something we weren’t aware of when we felt God leading us there to heal. We still aren’t sure when that healing will come.

It’s now Monday evening, and I sit here writing from a hotel room in Idaho, three hours from our other temporary dwelling that we “have” until May. Our youngest and my husband appear to have possibly just come down with the flu and I do not know what tomorrow will bring. To say we have answers for why we are in this situation or place, is an understatement. Maybe it is just not for us to know. We have no idea why we were brought to Utah or why we are still unwell.

I liken our situation a teensy bit to a refugee fleeing a war, only we are fleeing a war on our bodies, and a civilization that is literally poisoning itself. This week, it’s Idaho. We’ve been here for four days and we are heading back to Utah soon, the place where we have not been feeling “well”. Our next move? We have no clue. What I do know is that I’m fearful of us going back to that cabin and feeling awful again, however, I am going to continue to walk in faith and pray for health and healing for our bodies, as well as our next steps. I will continue to work to build the Kingdom of God, and I will be grateful for the extra funds we received from our taxes just in time to use for some relief in a hotel for a few days. I will continue to do my best to walk in love even when life is chaotic and stressful. And I will continue to stand on the scriptures below.

Will you join me in praying for health, healing, finances to be able to afford this desert walk, and housing and clean air our family can thrive in please? Thank you for lifting us up!

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. -2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
‭‭-Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. -Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬ ‭NRSV‬‬