Sara Salazar - Autoimmune Disease and Pulmonary Fibrosis

Sara Salazar - Autoimmune Disease and Pulmonary Fibrosis

When I originally recorded this episode with today’s guest Sara Salazar there were 2 things that stood out to me then and they stay with me even now. The strength of such a small family unit, Sara, her brother and their mom and the influence of a mother’s unwavering faith.

Sara had watched her mom overcome obstacle after obstacle, challenge after challenge. Sara held onto the hope that they’d be able to catch that needed break and things would level out for them and be a little easier.

So what would they do when a health diagnosis shakes the one foundation that their mother stands on? Solid. Unwavering. This mom’s faith in Christ alone was non-negotiable. But what happens when the expectations we have of God our ways of defining what it means for Him to show up are not fulfilled?

In my conversation with Sara, now a young woman in her mid 20’s, she shares the story of her mom through the eyes of a young teen. When Sara was 14 she received devastating news. Her mom who had scleroderma, an autoimmune disease finds out it has brought the onset of pulmonary fibrosis. It is a rare lung disease that affects 1 in 20,000 people. pulmonary fibrosis would scar her lungs making it difficult to breathe.

Upon receiving the bleak diagnosis, her mom stepped out in faith and shared that she believed God would heal her. Sara stood in agreement with her mother. They joined together in shared faith, believing that God would heal her. The faith community joined in faithful prayer for healing.

We all know that God has promised to never leave us alone especially in our pain and suffering but we also have to admit that there are times that God in His Sovereignty does not move the mountains that we so desperately pray for Him to move. And that was Sara’s experience. God did not heal her mom on this side of heaven. When Sara was 19 she laid her mother to rest.

I’ll admit that a believer’s death is the ultimate healing but what about those left behind to deal with the pain of separation? How would Sara make sense of a good God and the reality that He did not intervene in her mother’s suffering nor did He stop her death.

The good deposit that Sara’s mom made in her life, a fierce faith, the kind that weathers the storms and deeply painful seasons was then and is now, the life preserver of truth that keeps Sara firmly planted on solid ground.

May you be as blessed as I was to hear this precious woman’s story of genuine struggle, the revelations she received and what it looks like for her to arrive at a place of peace despite her deep pain.

 

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Website - Need help through your journey of grief? Get more info about all the ways Sara is there to help.
https://www.justbeingsara.com/

Transcript: https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/1f62b5446cf34ffe810dc9397ac4eb0f/edit_v2