Christians With Chronic Illnesses
Magnifying the voices of chronically ill brothers and sisters to inspirit their health journeys and their faith.
Episodes
40 episodes
Caregiving Though GBS with Cindy Washburn
He starts with a lisp. Then he can’t swallow. Then he can’t stand. Cindy Washburn joins us to share the caregiver perspective behind her husband Miles’ sudden Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) crisis, and what it’s like to watch the person you love...
ANOTHER Prosperity Message?! with L. A. Sprague
Somebody told you the miracle comes after you “believe hard enough.” Somebody else hinted that anxiety means you’re outside God’s will. If you live with chronic illness, chronic pain, depression, panic attacks, or any long-term condition, that ...
Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and Mother Mary's Obedience with Madeline Meade
A wheelchair destroyed under a garbage truck wheel. A holy card pierced while everything else held. A double rainbow after last rites in the NICU. Madeline Mead’s life with cerebral palsy is full of moments that force the question: do miracles ...
I'll Probably Delete This Later (It's About Depression) with L. A. Sprague
You can believe in Jesus and still feel crushed by depression and you can look “fine” while you’re quietly fighting to stay alive. I’m L. A. Sprague, and this is one of the most vulnerable stories I’ve ever shared: my experience with major depr...
Welcome to the Invisible Illness Club with April Aramanda
We invited April Aramanda (host of the Invisible Illness Club) to talk with us about what it looks like to live with chronic illness while staying honest with God and still reaching for joy.April shares her real-life health roller coast...
r/CHRONIC ILLNESS Reaction with L. A. Sprague
DayQuil-fueled honesty, hospital chaos, and the kind of humor you only learn after too many appointments. I’m L. A. Sprague, and while I’m fighting a cold (yes, I’m congested and a little loopy), I’m reading through Reddit threads from the chro...
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 n...
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 confidenc...
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 navig...
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...
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 un...
In Sickness and in Health with L. A. Sprague (AND HER HUSBAND :D)
Chronic illness doesn’t just change your body, it rewrites your calendar, your energy, and the way you measure a “good day.” We sit down as a newlywed Christian couple and talk honestly about marriage with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia...
Serving God Amidst Your Chronic Illness with Lindsey Rice
Pain that starts in childhood is hard enough. Being dismissed by doctors while you’re still trying to figure out who you are can shape your entire life. We sit down with Lindsay, a Chicago-based teacher and leader with Perspectives USA, to talk...
Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS): Deep Dive with L. A. Sprague
PCOS isn’t gone, but the name is changing for a reason. We’re talking about PMOS, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, and why this new label finally points to what so many people have felt for years: the problem is bigger than ovarian cys...
Depression, Epilepsy, and Praise with Becca Sugg
She broke her nose from a seizure a week before a major show and still performed. That single detail captures the tension we explore with Becca Sugg: the call to create, lead, and serve while living with chronic illness that can interrupt your ...
Reading Your Messages with L. A. Sprague
You can love Jesus and still be worn down to the bone. Today we're doing something simple but surprisingly powerful: reading your messages and responding in real time, with the deep breaths, low energy, and imperfect moments that come with life...
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Psoriasis, and Hope with "Jordan"
A “bad stomach bug” nearly took Jordan’s life and it became the moment she stopped trying to muscle through and started reaching for God again. Jordan joins us as a homesteader, artist, and future certified herbalist to share what it’s like liv...
Navigating Relationships with Chronic Illness with L. A. Sprague
Chronic illness doesn’t only change your body. It changes the way plans get made, the way texts get read, and the way silence can start to feel personal. We’ve both seen how quickly a flare-up can turn into guilt, defensiveness, or that awful q...
CRPS and Refinement with Benjamin Buckland
Pain can make you feel like your whole life has been reduced to symptoms, setbacks, and survival. Ben Buckland’s (Tried by Fire Podcast) story refuses that ending. After a workplace injury, Ben develops CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome), on...
Trusting People with Invisible Illness with L. A. Sprague
Skepticism about chronic illness is more common than people admit and it can quietly damage friendships, workplaces, and church community. So we tackle it head-on. Our host, L. A. Sprague, is answering listener questions while managing a rough ...
PCOS, Endometriosis, and Pastoring with Kylie Wicker
She’s a family pastor in Alaska, a lifelong Nazarene, and someone who goes home after church and crashes on the couch in pain. Kylie joins us to talk about what it’s like to lead in ministry while living with PCOS and suspected endometriosis, i...
Is God Good? Q&A with L. A. Sprague
A chronic illness diagnosis felt, to L. A. Sprague, like both a punch in the gut and a deep exhale at the same time. Having lived with unexplained symptoms, she understood that the real torment was often the unknown and the fear that nobody bel...
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Hashimoto's, and Poetry with Seth Noorzad
Your health can collapse in a way that looks invisible from the outside, yet changes everything on the inside. Seth Noorzad, a Santa Barbara attorney, joins us to tell the story of a sudden crash into chronic illness, a Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis ...
Friendship is Magic with L. A. Sprague (Half-time Show)
We sit down for a Halftime Show Q&A that gets real about chronic illness communication, especially the moment you realize your closest friends or family may not understand how much you’re struggling. We talk through a simple approach: ask i...
Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and Christ's Ever Presence with Miles Washburn (Miles for GBS)
The day started with a lisp and a stubborn “I’m fine,” then crashed into choking on saliva and legs that wouldn’t rise. From that freefall, Miles met a rare diagnosis—Guillain-Barré syndrome—an ICU room, and a neurologist who moved fast. IVIG a...