What happens when you know all the right answers about God, yet your heart still whispers, “Are You still there?”

Chronic illness has a way of making our world feel very small. Symptoms get louder. Appointments take over the calendar. Survival starts replacing living. Somewhere in the middle of the pain, many of us quietly begin asking questions we feel guilty for asking out loud.

Does God still see me?

Does He still have this?

Has He forgotten me?

In this episode, we’re talking honestly about the faith questions many Christians with chronic illness carry in silence. We’ll look at the people in scripture who asked hard questions, why honesty isn’t the opposite of faith, and how God remains both bigger than our suffering and closer than we can imagine.

If you’ve ever loved God and still wrestled with doubt, this conversation is for you.

• Why chronic illness can make God feel distant even when He isn’t
• Why asking hard questions isn’t a sign of weak faith
• What scripture teaches us about honest prayers and honest grief
• How chronic illness changes the way we pray
• Why survival prayers matter to God
• What mature faith can actually look like in hard seasons
• How God can be both enormous and intimately near at the same time

If you’ve been carrying questions you feel guilty for asking, try praying them honestly this week.

No polishing them.

No fixing them.

No editing them into church language.

Simply bring them to God exactly as they are.

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Hosted by April Aramanda

Music licensed through AudioJungle.

The Invisible Illness Club Podcast — honest conversations about faith, chronic illness, and living fully in hard seasons.

Lately, I’ve been spending more time sitting in the pool with my husband while the laundry waits inside.

The dishes still need to be done. The emails are still there. The to-do list hasn’t magically disappeared. I’m still tired. I’m still in a flare.

For most of my life, I believed rest was something you earned after everything else was finished. Chronic illness only amplified that belief. There is always another symptom to manage, another appointment to schedule, another piece of paperwork to complete.

At some point, I realized I had become the manager of my life instead of actually living it.

This episode is an honest conversation about unfinished laundry, poolside conversations, and learning that joy doesn’t need permission from productivity.

Because the dishes can wait.

The people we love won’t always be sitting beside us on a Tuesday afternoon.

• Why chronic illness can make life feel constantly urgent
• How productivity quietly becomes tied to worth
• The difference between managing life and living it
• Why connection and joy matter even in hard seasons
• Permission to enjoy your life before everything is finished
• Why leaving things undone isn’t always laziness

Choose one thing this week that brings you joy or connection and do it before your to-do list is finished.

• Sit outside with your coffee.
• Call a friend.
• Watch the sunset.
• Float in the pool.

Let one thing wait while you remember you’re allowed to live your life too.

1. 058 The Invisible, Full Time Job of Chronic Illness
2. 060 Faith in Different Seasons: Remembering that God is bigger than chronic illness

• Join The Unseen Sisterhood newsletter
• Visit The Invisible Illness Club website
• Listen to more episodes of The Invisible Illness Club Podcast

Hosted by April Aramanda

The Invisible Illness Club Podcast — Let’s talk honestly about life, faith, and chronic illness.

Music licensed through AudioJungle.

What does it look like to navigate life when the world isn’t always built with disability in mind? In this episode, I’m joined by Jenna D’Angelo Shiner, who shares her journey from being able-bodied to living with chronic illness and disability. We talk about mobility aids, internalized ableism, accessibility, faith, church culture, and why disability is not a bad word. This honest conversation explores what it means to live fully, advocate well, and create spaces where everyone belongs.

• Jenna’s journey into disability and chronic illness
• The emotional transition from able-bodied to disabled
• Why using mobility aids can bring freedom instead of defeat
• What internalized ableism looks like and why so many struggle with it
• How disability identity shapes the way we see ourselves
• Why accessibility matters and practical examples of barriers people face every day
• How churches can become more welcoming and inclusive
• The relationship between faith, healing, and living with chronic illness
• Why loving others includes advocating for accessibility and justice

Take a fresh look at one space you frequent—your church, workplace, favorite coffee shop, or even your home—and ask yourself, “Would this be easy to navigate for someone with a disability?” Small changes can make a big difference.

Jenna D’Angelo Shiner is a social worker, disability advocate, and passionate voice for accessibility and disability justice. She lives with chronic illness and disability and loves helping people better understand what life actually looks like for those navigating a world that isn’t always designed with them in mind.

Find her at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenna.reza

Instagram: instagram.com/jenrezdan

• Join The Unseen Sisterhood newsletter
• Visit The Invisible Illness Club website
• Listen to more episodes of The Invisible Illness Club podcast

Host: April Aramanda

Guest: Jenna D’Angelo Shiner

Music: AudioJungle