I hoped to hear some thoughts from others to the previous post. Here are words from friend Joshua:
The smart traveler knows how to pack. Knowing how to pack has a lot to do with knowing what to bring along. What will you need, and how much of it?I too have only one wish in life. Joshua said it.
I'm currently in the middle of a three-month long regimen of daily radiation therapy for cancer. They won't let me bring my family into the treatment room. Only the patient is in the room when equipment is running. It's a solitary experience, and a frightening one. I decided early on to issue a formal invitation to Jehovah to accompany me to these appointments.
At this time in my life, I need God more than ever. He has always been there for me in the past. I don't ask for the impossible. Only the strength to help me get through what I must get through to better my chances of beating this thing. I need the emotional and spiritual support of my faith in God and of my relationship with God. Knowing that I need God makes me a stronger man. Turning to God in my hours of need is not a sign of weakness, but one of faith. And strength.
I can recommend giving God a chance. Very highly. There are roads you may have to walk down in this life "alone" - and they do not lead to fun places. But you always have the option of getting around that by inviting God to come along - even just for the company!
Note: This works better if you remember to invite God along for the fun times and to the fun places, too. God makes those better as well. I could go on, but testimonials can get so dull and boring...
If I could wish for one thing to come true, it would be for everyone to suddenly awake with an awareness of how much God really does love them. What a seismic shift in geopolitics that would incite!
Before I had the car accident that limits my physical and mental abilities, I had the world by the tail as it were. I had a great job, with good future prospects, and I did love God in that. Suddenly, it was all taken away from me in an instant. I relied on my wits and smarts to do well. Gone now. Woe is me, NOT!
The greatest gift that God ever gave me in my life, was the opportunity to get to know Him better over these last 6 years, because I have had to depend on Him to open the doors to my new life. He has to sustain me, because I know now that there is little that I can do. When I have to stop whatever I am doing because I just have no mental or physical energy, I know that He will get me through. I did not really know this when I was earning the big bucks, and when I was a jock, because I could do it on my own, or so I somehow thought, even in my weak faith.
And among the many gifts that my Dear Lord has given me is the opportunity to build a beautiful relationship with my wife. What a blessing that has been. I have a help mate, and even though she too has been disabled, we are more than able through the God who strengthens us. Each of us has been given what we need to love each other and support each other, and above all to pray together for ourselves and for all our loved ones, and for the world.
I have so much more than I had when I was able. So, I am not really disabled, but made able in many new ways.
Joshua is on a particular journey that like me, he probably would not have chosen, but knowing that God is at his side makes all the difference.
What a blessing he has right now. As St. Paul said, and I used to think was too wacky to make any sense: "Consider all these trials joy." I can feel the joy in Joshua's journey, and of course, our prayers are with him for a successful outcome.
May God, the great healer pour his healing mercy on you, Joshua, on your body, mind, spirit and soul, to his glory and honour. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the World.
Good Morning Michael:
ReplyDeleteI awoke at 4:00 a.m. to see myself "posted up" at Freedom Through Truth again. Michael, you wrote that, before you had your car accident, you "...had the world by the tail as it were. I had a great job, with good future prospects, and I did love God in that. Suddenly, it was all taken away from me in an instant. I relied on my wits and smarts to do well. Gone now. Woe is me, NOT!"
Everything was not taken away from you, Michael, not even the things you list. Particularly, your "future prospects" are brighter than ever! Yes, yes, I know you meant your future "career" prospects have been stymied by the accident, but your future prospects overall are better than ever.
Anything that brings one closer to God - and anything that contributes to a stronger, more personal relationship with God - is empowering. Time was, I used to be amazed ay my own loyalty and faithfulness to my wife! I heard other chaps talk trash - and maybe they did do many of the things they claimed to have done - and I used to wonder whether I was "normal". I really did not experience any sexual curiosity about other women after marrying. Following the birth of our first child, I fell so deeply in love all over again with my wife (and am still not over it) that I wanted to have dozens more! As my wife grew from wife, to mother, to family accountant etc, I matched her development as a husband, father and breadwinner. We grew together so much throughout our 20s and 30s - one couldn't have become what s/he did become without the other. In our blessed marriage, my wife and I have become one. In life, we've become inseparable.
The individual human being's "future prospects" inevitably benefit from strong faith and a close relationship with God.
I'd buy a stake in your future prospects in a hearbeat, Michael! God loves us all, and you know it! And the future is INFINITE, so it's a lot more complicated to plan for it than it is for retirement. Then again, it's so simple. Just open your parched heart to God, and the flowing river of God's Love will carry you to the most wonderful places and experiences. If you've the eyes to see and appreciate the passing parade...if you've the sense of wonder to see the miracles He has wrought...