Doing Time with Lyme

Family update: Avalon started 1st grade. She is reading, writing and asking lots of questions - about everything. We are super proud of her.

Faith is 7 months old, said ‘mama’ for the first time, is crawling everywhere, and pulling herself up at least a few months early. She’s over the top cute.

We’re living at JAARS, working for Beeyond Bees. I’ve done 17 tours & talks to children & elderly this year about bees, honey and health and do Honey Tastings next month.

Kristina and I are well. We’re growing in our faith and planning for the family’s future. As of now, our agreement here runs through the end of the year and we estimate our next move could be anything. The estimation is: adventure, so stay with us!

Pray for us, give us a call and let us know how we can pray for you. We would love to hear from you. I hope you find a moment to read this story - it changed my life.

Doing Time with Lyme

For 33 years straight I woke up perfectly refreshed after a sound nights sleep.

That all radically changed when I had an uninvited encounter with Lyme disease.

Lyme has a ruthless history of debilitating chronic insomnia, brain fog, gut issues, muscle pain and worse. Untreated, it can impact someone for decades or life. As author Kris Newby accurately put it: “It’s like having multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, chronic fatigue and joint pain, all at the same time.” She wrote a book about the gain of function research that turned natural Lyme into a bioweapon. Dad always warned us of this.

Transmitted by a tick bite, it’s primarily a neurological disease that creates hyper-inflammation all around the body. Over 300,000 people contract Lyme every year. It’s a serious matter. The advice is to do regular tick checks on self & kids.

The illness started with COVID. That was the easy part. A month later still in pain, half my face stopped working. Kristina somewhat politely commanded me to see a doctor, who said just by my visuals: “you have Lyme disease.” Labs confirmed. The recovery time for Bells Palsy: a few months to never. Great.

Rocking this new droopy face included some high points: sleeping with one eye open, drooling after coffee sips, and being more memorable to new friends (that’s you Chad). About this time, like a self-righteous millennial moron, I secretly schemed to skimp the docs orders and take just ¾ of the medication. Real bad idea. Why did I do that? You kill one layer of the Lyme spirochetes, but leave a deeper layer of unhatched larvae, which comes back with a vengeance, great.

This proceeded into a 9 month sentence of insomnia. My time with lyme.

Often, when I laid down my spinal column would vibrate with a humming sound like a high powered electrical line, making it near impossible to rest.

On a good night I got 2 hours. But often I went 3-4 days with simply no sleep, before collapsing into an unrestful heap. Always coupled by a knee jerk wake up to frantically check the time, disheartened to see it was only hours, or even minutes later. Once awake, there was no going back to sleep - the Lyme symptoms forcing me out of bed into my drug of choice: long walks at night & early in the morning.

However, something special happens at these absurd hours. Awake alone at 3AM under the stars, praying in the brisk air is exhilarating, and somehow, I drew life giving strength from this time with God. Many don’t understand this, but the ones who do, really do.

I spent an entire winter, spring & summer walking, praying and reconciling my life. With it, came a lasting capacity to wake up early - a best life requirement, no longer subject to youthful addictions to sleep. It was a blessing in disguise. As I trusted God despite the sleeplessness, all the suffering drew me closer to Him.

Paul said this: “we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

As my bodies cries for sleep were sacrificed daily at the altar of involuntary surrender, I wrestled with my faith, and turned to natural remedies.

I tried the meds, took our Honey everyday, went to a fancy natural healing center, got brain scans by top doctors in NY, and bought the expensive supplements we couldn’t afford. It helped, but none of it cured. As exhaustion led to burn out I battled between depression and hope. But through these long walks at night just God & I- perseverance, character and hope remained lit like a faint flame.

I worked more than full time building our business, training two new awesome business partners & pushing complex creative projects forward, functioning daily without sleep.

The breakthrough did not come by medication or naturopathy….

Kneeling next to the bed in our basement studio apartment- this fell out of my mouth:

“God, I’m tired. This sucks. I’ve tried everything to be healed and its not working. But It’s been so wonderful spending time with you, and if you’re allowing this to happen just for that, and this is how it’s going to be forever, I accept it, trust you, and am grateful.”

Nothing happened.

No white light, no voice from heaven or trumpets. Just a pathetic heap on the floor by the dirty laundry, desperately abandoning the striving to heal, accepting a new normal.

Then this happened. That night I slept 8 hours.

At first I shrugged it off, thinking little of it. But then it happened again, and again, and again. It was no coincidence, God was responding to my prayer.

That moment, in a sea of memories became the pinnacle moment of a journey to health. There’s something about cries of desperation, at just the right moment, that move God.

My Fig Poultice
There’s a story about one of the good Kings of Israel, Hezekiah I relate with. See, Hezekiah got super sick & God told him to get his house in order, because he was going to die. Hezekiah prayed and cried out to God; who then changed His mind, and added 15 years to his life. Then, he was healed with a poultice of figs. I’ve heard a lot of theories on this passage, but i’d like to offer an interpretation based on my story.

I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you... I will add fifteen years to your life… “Prepare a poultice of figs.” So they brought it and applied it to the boil, and Hezekiah recovered. 1 Kings 20

When Hezekiah prayed and cried out, God responded with a promise of life, and then, gave him a natural remedy cure. But for Hezekiah, God got the glory in the story, not the figs, even though God used the figs to cure him.

After my sleep relief, my body was still ravaged by lyme symptoms. But 3 people told me in the same week to try a peculiar obscure natural remedy. The kicker? It had been sitting in my cabinet unused the entire time, probably just like Hezekiah’s figs.

So I tried the 21 day protocol. On day 15 I felt 90% better beyond the sleep. It stuck. I am Lyme free, with a watchful eye on sneaky symptoms.

If I told someone this natural remedy can do the same for you, i’d be giving the remedy the glory, but God gets that glory. It is the LORD who makes straight our paths. But I thank Him for sending me a poultice of figs after the humbling. Prayer, surrender and acknowledging Him. Friends, don’t be afraid to cry out in a time of trouble.

Bless you my friends,
Eric

• God cares more about our character than our comfort.
  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. 
  2 Corinthians 4:17
  

• Suffering somehow makes us beautiful.
  After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10
  

• Give God the glory in your story.
  I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you... 1 Kings 20