Hope in the Mourning

Hello! My name is Patrick Scoggin. I was born and raised in Laurel, MS, and now live in Winston-Salem, NC with my wonderful wife and three phenomenal kids. I am a nurse, a musician, and a member of Twin City Bible Church in Winston-Salem. God has truly blessed me in this life, and I have so much to be thankful for. I am learning, though, that sometimes, those blessings can come through difficult circumstances. My journey of chronic illness and sudden challenges is more characterized by failings, but I pray that my failings help someone learn that deep failings can give way to the even deeper grace of Christ. My story begins at my kitchen table in the summer of 2021.  My family had just finished breakfast when a buzz from my phone indicated a notification that made my stomach hit the floor. I can’t say that I didn’t expect it, but when I saw the words “new results” on the phone screen, my head filled with feelings, yet I was emptied of thoughts.  As I scrolled anxiously through my recent MRI results, my eyes landed on the final findings, and I remember looking at my wife and telling her as calmly and focused as could be, “Well, I have multiple sclerosis.” This was the first time that my life had been so abruptly shaken in any significant way. I have vivid memories of my grandmother in the advanced stages of this disease and my uncle, great-uncle, and other family members suffering from this disease. With my family history, I was able to catch my symptoms and get a diagnosis much earlier than most people, but even with this seeming advantage, there was nothing that could prepare me for the moment when my brain comprehended what I was reading. All my lesions