Erica Baldwin - Oh His Goodness

Clinging to God’s Goodness in Life's Impossible

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Hey there!

I’m so glad you’re here! I pray you’ve wandered onto this virtual space because you need real, tangible hope. Maybe your faith is dangling by a thread as you face life’s impossible circumstances. Living with an incurable genetic condition, I've learned that your faith can be firm even while your life is fragile. Join me as we journey to God's goodness on life's uncertain path... Read More…

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ericabaldwin_ohhisgoodness

Fragile body, firm hope | #VascularEDS warrior
I help you cling to God’s goodness in life's impossible.
⬇️ Free Devotional, Rest in Jesus

If your holidays look differently than you expecte

If your holidays look differently than you expected, I pray you know your brokenness doesn’t exempt you from embracing Christmas. In fact, this season invites us to remember the babe born in a manger who came to our home - our broken home - to offer us an eternal dwelling place with Him. Jesus the teacher, servant, and only suitable sacrifice will ultimately heal all brokenness and restore us, sinless and sharing in a glorious inheritance that we cannot imagine. Fully divine and fully man, a Savior well acquainted with grief.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5

A diagnosis, loneliness, questions, an empty chair, or empty arms…I pray that whatever heartache or darkness may overshadow your life right now, you can embrace the light that cannot be overcome. Behold the Lamb of God, full of grace and truth. Remember your home with Christ this Christmas.

*REMEMBERING* November is National Family Caregive

*REMEMBERING* November is National Family Caregivers Month, and I don’t want it to pass by without mentioning this guy. My husband, Steve, was suddenly thrust into the role of caregiver 12 years ago after the traumatic birth of our son and my year-long health battle. Back then, it was all-consuming.

He quickly learned medical lingo, advocated tirelessly for me, and was a bulldog for answers and next steps. He learned how to change ostomy bags, prep my daily TPN IV feeding, measure drainage outputs, and record every medication, symptom, and interaction with doctors, nurses, and aides in his trusty spiral-bound notebook. He managed phone calls with doctors, the insurance company, and family members.

He protected my rest, encouraged me when I needed motivation, and, oh yeah, entertained and cuddled our newborn, who was a beacon of light and laughter during those dark days.

I joke that Steve’s not a naturally empathetic person. I tease him, “Did I hurt your feeling?” (singular) But God supernaturally equipped him to care for me with tenderness and grit. During my health crisis, we had lots of outside help, but Steve bore the daily burdens of my care. I trusted him because he knew every aspect — often even better than I did.

There were many lessons learned during that season, but here are a few:
*God goes before us and provides what we need when we need it.
*God knows every detail of our lives better than we do, so His care and remedies are right and good.
*God’s proven himself faithful in the past, and He can be trusted with the future.

I see you, family caregivers — for aging parents, spouses, and children with special needs, disability, or illness — and I honor you this month. I know the burden is heavy and often unseen. Thank you to those who cared for my caregiver during that year, offering breaks, bringing meals, cleaning, praying, and providing needed levity. You loved us well!

See the link in my stories for “Say This, Not That” - a guide as you interact with family caregivers. This simple shift in language is spot-on.

#nationalfamilycaregiversmonth #chronicillness #InvisibleIllness #diamondsconference #VEDS #vascularEDS

I woke up to purple-hued, pre-storm skies the othe

I woke up to purple-hued, pre-storm skies the other day. Looking up always inspires wonder.

#liturgyofthelittlethings

First of all, I’m thankful for you, dear friends

First of all, I’m thankful for you, dear friends across the internet! I started writing when my faith in God’s goodness was wavering after a scary diagnosis and a prolonged trial.

A dozen years ago, I was taking my Thanksgiving meal through an IV line in my arm. We had a newborn baby boy. My doctors were searching for a specialist for any kind of help. We worried it could be my last holiday season — and I wondered if the God of my childhood could be trusted with an uncertain future.

By God’s sweet mercy, I’m still here. And you are, too, friend. Maybe you stumbled across my page because, like me, you were wondering if this life of faith was worth it. And, I can tell you, as I’ve dug into God’s Word and learned more of His character, it is. He is! As He’s met my every need and heard my feeble prayers, I’m more convinced of His goodness with each trial.

Maybe your Thanksgiving doesn’t feel like a celebration. You’re missing someone. Life hasn’t turned out like you imagined. Your heart is hurting, or your body is broken.

I’m praying you can muster up some weak prayers of gratitude, not as a rote exercise, but as an act of spiritual warfare. I pray you grow to know the goodness of God in a new way, and you trust His mercy and steadfast love will endure when your strength is zapped. I pray you make gratitude a regular practice so your eyes are opened to the love God has for you, even when things are hard.

Whether or not your table is heaped with food and surrounded by loved ones, I pray your Thanksgiving is filled with gratitude to the Father who loves you so much that He sent his Son to make you His.
Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Goodness chasers!

#ohhisgoodness #gratitudepractice #choosinggratitude #countitalljoy #countingitalljoy #gratitude #thanksgiving #vasculareds #vascularehlersdanlossyndrome #VEDS #chronicillness #invisibleillness #spooniesisterhood #diamondsconference #chronicallyillchristian

Fall morning after a full house last night. Bible

Fall morning after a full house last night. Bible study, chili, Code Names, & fire pit with our young adults from church. My heart is happy.

#liturgyofthelittlethings

If your spiritual pilgrimage is a place, where are

If your spiritual pilgrimage is a place, where are you today? // Day 14 #goodnessgrounded

I'm on solid ground. Tested, tried, scarred but stronger from the thorns of life’s journey.

At 45 years old, I'm trusting the Great Navigator, not looking too far ahead, but secure in the destination - led by hope.

I do the math sometimes - how long until my next major medical event? But then I take the illuminated next step and embrace today because it's full of the things I've prayed for.

My doubts, questions, and fears were proving grounds, and the valleys proved God good, full of mercy, and abounding in love.

“I shake, but my rock moves not.” << A CH Spurgeon quote I saved to my phone this week.

In his commentary of Psalm 7, Spurgeon wrote, “Whatever may be the emergency of our condition we shall never find it amiss to retain our reliance upon our God.”

Yes. Yes. That's where I am today.

A prayer haiku // Day 13 #goodnessgrounded Eyes l

A prayer haiku // Day 13
#goodnessgrounded

Eyes lifted upward
Gold and crimson dosey do
Fertilizing hope

I'm unashamedly an autumn girl. Summer is too hot and mosquito-ridden. Spring is too allergy-y. Winter is gray but not snowy where I live.

Fall, my favorite, also brings gut-grief memories. But as I crunch my way through the neighborhood, I become surer that God is growing deep roots and lasting fruit, as I let go of the life I imagined and embrace the colors of the life He’s lovingly ordained.

#ohhisgoodness #thankfulheart #gratitudechallenge #countitalljoy #countingitalljoy #vasculareds #vascularehlersdanlos #invisibleillness #chronicillness

Embrace the wound // Day 12 #goodnessgrounded I c

Embrace the wound // Day 12 #goodnessgrounded

I cannot get through a single day without seeing the wounds chronic illness has inflicted on my body. Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome has taken my modesty, 8 feet of my intestines, my belly button (yep, you read that right), and the freedom to carelessly dismiss aches and pains.

I used to hate the weakness of my body - the bruising, the scar tearing, the inside pulsing with unseen dangers.

But over the years, I've embraced my wounds as God’s roadmap to his goodness. Every scar tells a story of His gentle pruning - cutting away my self-reliance, replaced with His generous resilience. He has strengthened my faith to see His glory in the hallways of hard places.

I am changed, inside and out, because of my wounds.

#ohhisgoodness #thankfulheart #gratitudechallenge #countitalljoy #countingitalljoy #vasculareds #vascularehlersdanlos #invisibleillness #chronicillnesswarrior

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