From the desk of Steve Shultz:
You've GOT to read this blog by Megan Becker... One of the most mature and amazing God-centered articles I've ever read and it's by a young woman in High School!
I know Megan's mother, Julee, more than I know Megan. Julee worked several years for the Elijah List and was an amazing employee before she moved on to other things. Both Julee and her daughter Megan have had debilitating pain for years now – yet while they await the Lord's healing (a great deal of medical tests and help have been ongoing), both mother and daughter have made their love and adoration of the Lord steadfast, unshakeable, and Eternal. (Photo: Julee Becker, Megan's mom)
You will be super-encouraged and built up by this wonderful and personal exhortation in finding THE JOY OF THE LORD.
"Joy Changes You!" says Megan, even while in great pain!
Now, please read Megan's blog, published here with Megan's permission. You might want to email her or comment on her blog and tell her what this article has done for you!!
Enjoy!
Steve Shultz
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Megan Becker:
Choices - Joy Changes You
Choices.
It has been three whole years since the last time I haven't had a headache all day every day. And sitting here today, I honestly can't believe it's been that long. It has been such a long and painful journey...but also such a redeeming, joyful one. I have grown to be so much more like Jesus...humbled, with eyes open to those around me.
For me, the month of October not only represented another month of surviving...but another year of overcoming. A few months into this journey back in 2011, I realized that my mindset toward the whole thing could determine how I turned out when it was all finished. There were so many days were I doubted God and where I whined and was probably really unpleasant to be around. But there were so many MORE days spent thanking God for His strength and peace and asking Him to help me learn and become more like Jesus through this.
Every day consisted of decisions. And it still does. Whether to be joyful or grumpy, whether to be encouraging or bitter. After a while, when people would say they had a headache, I would start to get a little resentful. Thinking things like, "They don't even know the half of it." Luckily for me, I have a high pain tolerance. But then I realized that for others, maybe a small headache feels equivalent to my major ones. I began to gain understanding and perspective on not only the case of headaches, but on life. What I can handle is totally different than what others can.
I began to challenge myself to speak less of me and my issues and to speak more words of encouragement for those also struggling. It hasn't been easy at all...some days I really want people to just tell me how proud they are of me, or how much they love me and my attitude. But it's not about me. If I want 
to become more like Jesus, that includes caring less about myself.
There have been major benefits of not thinking about my own problems...one of them being how it becomes so much easier to survive when you aren't focusing on your own survival but on helping others thrive.
Another major decision I had to make was whether I was simply going to be a survivor, barely making it through each day, or whether I was going to be an overcomer. An overcomer doesn't give up, they don't get discouraged. They keep fighting.
I chose to be an overcomer. Every day when I wake up I ask the Lord for enough strength to overcome everything, not just survive through it. Because I want to make memories, I want to build friendships, I want to remember high school. I don't want to remember letting chronic headaches stand in the way of being a teenager.
Which brings me back to the title I chose: choices. Every moment we have a choice to let life overwhelm us, get the best of us, discourage us, or we can choose joy, which is given by trusting solely in God. Because you can be at the lowest point in your life, but still experience joy. Because I chose joy, disappointments no longer have a grip on me. If someone lets me down, I'm able to move on and be even stronger than before. I'm able to sit down and pray for that same person within minutes of being hurt by them.
Joy changes you.
Joy has made me a permanently happy person. I can see the positive and the humorous things in absolutely anything now.
So as I finish this up, I invite you to also feel the joy that I have felt. God gives it freely to us and wants us to grab hold so desperately...we just have to make the choice to receive it.
It is well.
Megan Becker
It Is Well Blog
Email: megbecker23@gmail.com
Website: countingthisalljoy.blogspot.com
Megan Becker: I go to a small Christian school on a hill, East Linn Christian Academy. I'm just a small town girl with a big heart for God and a huge love for His creation. My life is far from perfect, but I have chosen joy as my mantra. I am blessed beyond what I deserve to live this life and experience all it has to offer me. Through my blog I will document all of the things I have overcome, suffered through, and experienced. All to bring glory to my Savior. Living each day with a purpose and taking in everything around me. It is well with my soul.
