What I Learned In Bed; What My Book Friends & Angels Taught Me About God & Myself While I Was Bedridden For Over Eight Years

By AJ Hubbell

How does one remain an optimistic lover of one’s spouse, adoring mother and parent to one’s children, and a productive member of one’s community when one’s physical and mental abilities are transiently, sometimes suddenly, and consistently eroded?
How does one deal with the disbelief of extended family and casual observers when one’s abilities are as transient as their observations?
Remaining close to the Savior, loyal loved ones, her Book Friends, and maintaining an eternal perspective were what kept suicide firmly off the list of options for dealing with the agony and despair Angela D. P. Hubbell found herself in.
While walking down the hallway at church with her two year old daughter, while four months pregnant, Angela suddenly fell as though an unseen hand reached inside her body and flipped off all the “fuses” to her bodies “unnecessary” functions; blurring her vision, impairing her speech, and leaving her virtually paralyzed. Hours later she was released from the emergency room seemingly restored with no explanations, while her husband was thousands of miles away for military service. Thus began an intense physical, mental, and spiritual journey of transient health problems which left her crippled and increasingly bed ridden for over eight years as she often watched her family, and life, happen without her.
In this book Angela shares how trusting the God of Abraham, and relying on the examples of her “Book Friends” got her through the Dark War of demons attacking and scarring her soul, searing physical pain, loved ones questioning her integrity because she “looked” healthy, and the despair of being unable to be the mother and helpmeet she would have chosen to be in this life had she been healthy.
Angela shares insights that stood out to her during the Dark War of near constant spiritual battles, and her perspective that, when we ask the right questions during times of chaos and agony it makes it easier to receive the help that Jehovah so dearly wants to give us.
Have you ever experienced the sting of a demons whip?
Or the constant verbal cacophony of a legion of demons beating on your spirit for years at a time while demanding that you surrender and curse God before they grant you the sweet release of death?

How one does battle with evil determines the outcome of the battle.
How does one prepare for such battles?
What can one do to defend oneself before, during, and after these battles which will come in this life?
How can parents, families, friends, caregivers, neighbors, and community leaders help strengthen themselves and those around them?
The author shares her God centered perspective to each of these questions within the pages of “What I Learned In Bed; What My Book Friends & Angels Taught Me About God & Myself While I Was Bedridden For Over Eight Years.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: AJ Hubbell
• Release date: Nov 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463131794

AJ Hubbell

AJ Hubbell grew up enjoying an active life in the Rocky Mountains. An accomplished athlete in high school and college she has traveled in parts of North Africa, the Mediterranean, Western Europe, several American states, and Asia. She is happily married to her handsome Cowboy, and is the gleeful Tickler In Chief to their two mischievous Younglings, and Organizer of All Things Magical in their happy home.She enjoys adventures with her cute family, exploring the joyful world God has organized for us, all things delicious, first editions, early American history, the writings and speeches of Cicero, and of course, high quality dark chocolate.Her public speaking career began when she was just three years old, when her mother would take her about town reciting things like “T’was the Night Before Christmas” to church and social groups. She began writing her own material at the age of six, and although she is honored to speak with all ages, her soul adores working with children and young adults as she shares her perspective on matters of Eternal Consequence, Gratitude, Grace and Perspective, the Twin Gifts of Repentance and Forgiveness, Natural Law, and the Eternal Importance of Good Manners (particularly poignant for children, young people, and professionals).

Book preview

Chapter One

Lightning & Perspective. Is this what

being struck by lightning feels like?

Ihad once again found myself sobbing aloud, not knowing how I came to be on my knees, until the blinding effects of such sudden and incapacitating pain abated just enough for me to once again breathe, and realize what had happened.

I was walking…then I heard screaming...oh, wait, was that me screaming?

And my line of sight was lowering down for some reason...was I falling?

Why was I falling? I was just walking...PAIN!

How can the human body contain such extreme pain shooting up the entire spine and out through what feels like every nerve ending in my body, and still have no visible source of injury?

The pain always passed, and I always felt weakened, freezing cold, and hungry as a result.

Is this the kind of pain voodoo practitioners promise their clients they can deliver through those little dolls?

I pondered that notion as I slowly and carefully made my way back to bed, leaning on walls for support, or crawling when I could no longer walk.

Oh, wow, our floor needs to be cleaned...

Our Treasures were faithfully by my side, supporting my frame, and encouraging me as we slowly made our way back to my bed.

I really did not want to go back to bed.

Is this how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego felt when being taken to the fiery furnace? Ohh, or maybe that Cat that Pepé Le Pew is always chasing?

I rather liked being out of bed as the options of what to do were rather limitless. From bed, and with the horrendous case of brain fog which smothered me, I could only read and watch the educational equivalent of cotton candy, when I much preferred meat and potatoes information. Sometimes I could even enjoy my favorite cooking channels, and that was truly a blessing, for occasionally I got to utilize those skills during the rare moments I could leave my room and go cook.

Brain fog, or cognitive impairment, was both a curse and a blessing. The curse portion severely limited what I could do with my mind, and the blessing portion left me too numb to be angry, and driven completely mad about it. That realization left me concluding that it was similar to God’s commandments in that superficially they appear to be limiting, and only limiting, but when I looked deeper I could see they were actually protecting me from true horrors.

My life used to be different; less pain for starters. And honestly, the lightning pain episodes only happened occasionally these days, and never when I was in bed, so that meant I was out of bed, which now occurred so infrequently as to be a joyful and notable occasion, and one that went on to my Gratitude List.

Yes, I actually had a List. It had become necessary armor for my survival. My List and my Book Friends sometimes were amongst the last of my threads tethering me to sanity. And this life. But really, who wants to talk about that. How boring, right?

Nugget of Perspective...

Cowboy got me hooked on Star Trek: The Next Generation, when I was couch bound during a multi week illness early on in our marriage. The pilot episode was so terrible that I told him it was too ridiculous to endure, but he encouraged me to keep watching it, assuring me the episodes greatly improved as the season advanced. He was so adorable, and promised that if after watching a few more episodes and I still hated it that he would find me some more old BBC shows, or early black and white mystery shows, which I already loved.

(After the pilot the series it did, in fact, improve greatly, and I am now the happy owner of the entire series, as well as the movies. I think Data and I would definitely get along.)

In one episode Captain Picard, an amateur archaeologist, is gifted with an extremely rare piece of pottery, excavated from an extinct civilization. They had chosen to symbolize their inner thoughts and emotions as little people within the larger person-vessel. The Captain was stunned to open the larger vessel and find all the little people intact, as this was an even more rare find.

This delightful symbolism always resonated with me, and we have adapted this imagery in our own cute family. (It also has really helped our Treasures to explain what they are experiencing at times.)

Chapter Two

Once Upon A Time…

Introduction To My Book Friends

One day, as a small child, mom appeared in my room holding what I came to learn was a cassette recorder and a couple cassettes with books for early readers. It was through these that I came to know, and then love, Noah, Daniel, David, Adam, and many others. As I listened often to their stories, and I studied their accompanying story books, growing more familiar with their stories, their lives, their personalities, and their characters. These became my Book Friends, and they were faithful, and true. They were always available for me, and were constant, and reliable friends.

As the years progressed, so too did my circle of Book Friends, eventually including my Ancestors, the ancients of Greece, Rome, the Netherlands, China, Japan, Europe, and the Americas, even River Heights, Narnia, and Middle Earth. I loved my Book Friends and the truths revealed in their realms of magic, trial, agony, ecstasy, crushing heartbreak, and overwhelming success.

So each time my vision returned after the lightning pain, I drew on some of the stories of my Ancestors; grandpa Leonidis of Sparta, grandpa Wallace of Scotland, and Jesus of ancient times, who kept getting back up whenever they were struck down.

Of course they got back up. They knew only success until death, and I knew only them. God had protected them, and I trusted that He would protect me.

So of course I got back up.

It really hurt.

And I did it anyway.

Nugget of Perspective...

A righteous, strong, man is worth more than his weight in mithril.

When I wanted to sing in church or any other place where I used to sing, and no longer could, Cowboy, sensing my heartache, would put his big, strong arms around me and hold me close whispering, It’s okay... I love you.

And that, right there folks, can truly be the