Pityriasis Rosea

I have often contemplated - Where would my faith be in the face of a trial so huge that in the midst I would doubt whether I could trust God through it or even survive with my faith in tact? I've asked, why has God never trusted me with a trial so big that my faith can be tested and stretched to a limit I didn't know existed? Daily trials or faith tests come each day whether big or small. Pain and brokeness can bring us to the feet of our Savior swiftly. It's not only the huge, sometimes very public trials in our lives that put our faith to the test but also the common everyday desires of our hearts that keep us on our toes as to where our loyalties lie. Mind you, I am not asking God to inflict hardship on my life. I am just aware that while living on this Earth, there will be pain, there will be temptation, there will be times of crisis all involving choices to turn to ourselves to survive or to the One who has given us all the strength & hope we will ever need.
A month ago, I started getting some red, dry splotches on my arms and then on my stomach. I joked with Tracy that it was my body's final attempt to push out all toxins from the earlier 6 weeks of being sick. I was sure the spots were eczema, or the like, until they started spreading all over my trunk (front & back), legs, arms and now my neck and chest. I finally decided to have a doctor diagnose me and get me on the road to recovery. He confirmed that my joke about my body pushing toxins out was pretty acurate. He put a name with my rashy, nasty spots - pityriasis rosea - a non-contagious skin infection. There is nothing to do but wait it out and keep it moisturized (for up to 8 weeks!). There is no known cause. There isn't a cure. I just have to wait and resist the urge to itch and hope that it clears up soon.
Annoying as these last few weeks have been, I have been thinking about why I have been inflicted with this ugly skin trial. Did I deserve such a horrible skin defect? Is there something in my life that I need to address before these spots go away? Could I have done something differently while I was sick so that this outcome was avoided? I don't believe I have been "struck down" or that this is some form of punishment. But I have been reminded that I do not have to endure a trial of major proportion for my faith to be strengthened and God to teach me lessons I still need to learn - stop complaining, listen to the advice of others, the folly of vanity...
It's not always the huge tests that show how strong our faith is. It can be the everyday annoyances. Are there really big and little trials or have we assigned value to something that isn't quantifiable? God has given me this rather than a heavy, emotional pain, but it doesn't make it any less valuable of a lesson. I am still learning about God's mercy and how He cares about the little stuff. I am still learning that prayer changes my desires to align with His. As the days go by and I am not healed, doubt creeps in - what if it's something else... God has calmed my fears. It's an ugly, sometimes painful reminder that I am not home. This life is only temporary and now I am going to put another layer of cream on before I crawl out of my skin!