Growing up with sickle cell disease changed the way I defined strength.
As a child, I thought strength meant running fast.
Lifting heavy things.
Never getting tired.
Never crying.
Never needing help.
But pain rewrote that definition.
Because there were days my greatest victory was simply getting out of bed.
Days when strength looked like:
Sitting up without crying.
Walking slowly to the bathroom.
Managing to eat a few spoonfuls of food.
Finally sleeping after hours of pain.
Smiling after tears.
Trying again tomorrow.
Not dramatic victories.
Small ones.
Yet I’ve learned something profound over the years:
Heaven never despises small strength.
One of my favorite miracles in Scripture began with something grossly inadequate:
Five loaves.
Two fish.
Not enough for fifty, let alone thousands.
Not impressive.
Not powerful-looking.
Yet when Jesus blessed it, little became abundance.
“Then He took the five loaves and the two fish… So they all ate and were filled…” — Luke 9:16–17
That Scripture speaks to me deeply because living with chronic illness teaches you how to survive on “little.”
Little strength.
Little energy.
Little sleep.
Little appetite.
Little emotional capacity.
But God taught me this:
Little is not nothing.
Sometimes the strength to breathe through another painful hour is strength.
Sometimes showing up weak is strength.
Sometimes resting instead of pretending is strength.
And gratitude changes everything.
I began learning to celebrate small victories instead of mourning only what I could not do.
Because there were seasons when I could not even do those “small” things.
Pain has a way of teaching appreciation.
You stop taking ordinary moments for granted:
A pain-free morning.
A good laugh.
A meal enjoyed peacefully.
A full night’s sleep.
A short walk without weakness.
And strangely enough, gratitude multiplies joy.
Educational Nugget:
Fatigue is one of the most common but underestimated symptoms of sickle cell disease. Chronic anemia reduces oxygen delivery to the body, making even ordinary activities exhausting during difficult seasons. Rest is not laziness — it is often necessary care.
Pain2Gain Reflection:
Do not despise small victories.
Sometimes surviving quietly is its own kind of miracle.
Next, I’ll share the dangerous lesson I learned from comparing my life to others… and why comparison can quietly steal joy from people living with sickle cell.
#ThrivingWithSickleCell
