Aloha RodB,
I apologize for taking a while to get back to this one. Thanks for reposting it with my name in the subject so I couldn't miss it! 
I did a quick perusal of the Born a Healer Book and the Level I CD scripts and didn't see it. I even pulled up old "Guild" newsletters from way "back in the day," and still nothing. Hmmm…so much for referencing something already written.
Master Lin does talk about it in his classes, seminars, retreats, etc.
Seeing your illness as your master, is to look at it as having something to teach you about your life choices and an opportunity to grow and heal at more than just a physical level.
Within crisis, one can find danger and opportunity.
If you read his story in Born a Healer, during the stadium presentation by the Qigong healer, Chunyi’s knee issue was healed, but not 100%. If he had been healed 100%, he said would not have taken on the Qigong road to recover which led him help heal himself, thousand of others, and into the role as a Qigong master.
A person's illness may lead them to meet people and do things they would never in a million years seen themselves doing. Another's may lead to profound forgiveness, compassion, a shift in attitude eating habits, or physical exercise.
Just as "people don't do things for no reason," and we have a choice to accept them, judge them, hate them, fight them, forgive them, assist them, work with, or learn from them-the same goes with an illness/disease.
A person can whine about having lemons, or work pat a few juice squirts in their eye, and enjoy the lemonade-even though its not the strawberry daiquiri they initially wanted.
Much Love, Shawn
