God's Word for Today

Thursday, October 23, 2014

“Whatever you are doing keep doing it!”

I had never had a hip injection before so I was a bit apprehensive going into the procedure.

Unless you have nerves of steel, I think most normal folks would experience moments of apprehension at the prospect of any medical procedure that involves long needles. During major surgery you have the benefit of being unconscious, however for this very minor procedure a small local anesthetic was all that was required.

I was patient #7. It was like a human cattle call, we were all lined up in a medical assembly line, each partitioned off in our separate little curtained waiting areas with our warmed blankets, hospital gowns, matching disposable shower caps and fuzzy socks with the skid proof tread on the feet.

The doctor actually had to help me put on my fuzzy socks as I could not bend over to put them on myself. She had come in to introduce herself. She took pity on me when she noticed that I had only managed to get one sock on. She bent down retrieved the lone sock and put it on for me. Whipped out a magic marker, asked me which hip was getting the injection and then put her initials on my right hip.

In the course of the hour or so I was there I lost count how many time I was asked to repeat which hip they were going to jab. Trust me when I say, they want to make REAL sure they get the right body part!

Now that I had both feet in my fuzzy socks, and was covered in a nice warm blanket it was time to wait!

Waiting is so fun, NOT!

I began to pray. Praying for myself, asking for all the normal things one asks prior to any type of medical procedure. Be with the doctors, be with the nurses, be with me etc….

 

I watched patient #6 walk by, so I knew I would be next.

 

This very nice young man came in and began to tell me what was about to happen.

 

Then within a few minutes I was laying on the table. The nice young man had an oxygen monitor and blood pressure cuff on me, he was monitoring my heart rate. He was sitting at my head behind me . As I am laying there the other nurses were prepping me for my injection. I was laying down flat craning my head in all directions looking at the various medical devise surrounding me trying not to focus on having a needle inserted into places that should never have needle inserted into. But I digress.

Back to the nice young man was seated down past my head.  

He spoke, I could not see him. 

“Take a few deep breaths for me, try to slow your heart rate down a bit.”  

Apparently it was a bit fast for his liking. I am not sure what they expect of a person laying on a table in an operating room waiting for someone to jab a needled in ones hip, but I was a bit nervous, fearful and even though they had explained the procedure to me fully….does anyone ever want a needle jabbed into ones hip?  

He also reached up and put his hand on my shoulder, something about the touch of another person, letting me know that even though I could not see him he was there watching over me.

 Trying to be obedient I followed his instructions and began to take long slow breaths in and out.

I also began to pray.

The only pray that I could come up with at that moment was “Come Holy Spirit” 

I laid there and recited that three word prayer in my head over and over. 

“Come Holy Spirit.” 

“That’s good!” He said. 

“Whatever you are doing keep doing it!” 

So I did. 

A few minutes later, excluding some minor discomfort, my procedure was over. 

I was up off the table and back in my little cubicle.  

The reality, it’s always worse in your imagination. It’s always worse when you-know-who gets in your head with all kinds of bad thoughts which don’t warrant sharing. 

My lesson of the day, relying on the power given to me by Jesus never fails to calm ones heart. The 24/7 access we have to His Power and Grace is only a breath away. 

This morning I am much improved! I was able to get dressed with very little discomfort. Bending over, getting out of a chair, all the normal day to day activities are almost pain free.  

God is Great! Doctors are good. I am still not prepared to state that insurance companies are good. I am fully convinced that the evil one has a hand in those.

However, as I was thinking about my day yesterday, going over the course of events, I usually recognize almost immediately when I have missed an opportunity.  

“Whatever you are doing, keep doing it” he said. 

I was so focused on my own human condition, that it was not until later that I realized that it would have been so easy to have said “Thanks, I’m praying.” 

In my humanness I was waiting for the needle AND not thinking about anything else but myself! 

In my moment of fear and apprehension Jesus provide the comfort of a human touch and a three word prayer.  

I think when I miss an opportunity, I always feel like I have failed. The reality is that I also learn more from my failures then I do from my success.  

I missed an opportunity to share with those four people in that room yesterday. However this morning, I have to opportunity to write it all down, to share a very small moment in my day when Jesus showed up.

 

“Whatever you are doing, keep doing it” he said.

 

So I did!

 

Blessings

R

 

Romans 8:26

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Re-Thinking some things....


You know that point when it is easier to take a second picture that spend thirty minute looking though all your digital files looking for a photo you know you have already taken....yea that moment right now!

Moving on! 

I am participating in a bible study on Wednesday evening at out church. It's called Experiencing God. I know in my heart that all study of God's Word does not return to us empty, it will return to us with whatever gift, message or direction that God chooses. It is never a waste of time and it is never to be taken lightly. 

I will say that with most bible studies I have taken I usually find myself in a situation where the author and I departed on certain theories or even interpretations. That's ok as well. We all come to the study of God's Word on different levels of need.

The concept of this bible study is not unfamiliar to me.

It starts from a place of recognizing that God in His infinite wisdom is always at work. 

He is the beginning of all things and He is constantly trying to make a connection with us. So if He is always at work, always seeking relationship then that moment when we discover God speaking to us is the moment when action is required. 

When you find out where God is actively working in your life or the lives of others, make the decision to join Him in. 

He is actively at work right now every day! 

For each person, finding their place in God's big plan can be so very daunting.  That is as individual as the DNA unique to each one of us. 

Where God's want me to step out and where God wants you to step out may be totally different. That's the way the body of Christ works. Scripture speaks to all of us having unique and different spiritual gifts that we all must find and begin to utilize.

This brings me to my re-thinking for today.

I may have posted this to my blog before, but the place where in am in my life right now it bears repeating.

I have been keeping a journal since 1974, yes that one, nine, seven and four! 

That is forty years! 

When was the last time you recognized that you have been doing something consistently for over forty years? 

Here they all! 



I have given instructions to my sisters in Christ that upon my death these journals are to be confiscated immediately. Then safely hidden away until such a time when they can be safely distributed in small doses to my remaining loved ones. I think I may be serious about this, but I am still ponding the impact that these journals will have on those who may read them after I have been called home to glory!

I have a point really I do....

In the five weeks of this study what I have begun to recognize is this. 

Even before I was aware or even knew who God was, He was actively trying to make a connection with me. It took me over thirty years to respond to the invitation. I, now think that the desire for me to pick up my pen and record the events of my life was no accident.

Three days ago I started a new private blog, one that I am going to make an entry into each day and see where it all goes. 

My plan, well there is not one beyond making a promise to God that I will try to write something down every day. Whatever I am feeling, whatever is going on in my life, whatever revelation God is showing me for that day.

I am for now not wasting time with punctuation or spelling, all that can be edited out at a later date. 

Now I am just working on obedience. 

Find out where God is working and join Him right there! There may be many points where Mr. Blackabee and I differ, but I am embracing this concept because I think he is hitting the nail right on the head. 

This is something I have been doing all my life, now I am beginning to make the connection that there may have been a greater purpose besides just emptying the garbage of my internal thought life.

Maybe it's all mixed up and not making any sense to me right now. 

But striving to be obedient!

Oh and Dana, I am not sure if it is wishful thinking or if the steroids beginning to kick in. Or that it is still relatively early in the day, but for the moment my pain level is manageable and the hip is a bit better I think.

If your read my post from the other day you know that I am struggling with some arthritis in my hip and awaiting the possibility of short term fix with possible hip replacement in my future. 

So for now, for this moment I feel pretty good!

Blessings
R

Pray for tomorrow and my continued obedience








Friday, October 3, 2014

It's Raining...and a few other morning thoughts.

Does the sound of the rain comfort you?

I was sitting in my chair this morning listening to the rain and wondering. Is there any sound in the world that brings with it a more peaceful feeling? Maybe the train whistle far off in the distance that I just heard comes close.

I am not sure why I opened up blogger this morning.

The daughter just left for school, which means due to our lack of adequate transportation I am under house arrest until she returns. We make due until we can sort out this latest wrinkle, not having a big ol' pile of money for a third car at our disposal is at times a big pain in my you know what. Had the girlchild heeded our warnings several years ago and set about saving the necessary funds then none of this would be necessary, yet again the sacrifices a parent makes for the needs of a child.

The reality, like I was getting out in the rain to drive her to school just so I could have the car.....sooooooo not happening this morning.

So here I sit listing to the train whistle and the rain wash things clean, enjoy the peace and quiet in my home.

I had a nice long break from household chores for several weeks as the husband was on an extended business trip for almost a month. However, he is home now so the domestic chores like cooking and cleaning have resumed. Yea for me!

There have been a few life observations that have been placed before me over the course of the last few days.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly one can be sucked back in time to a painful memory. Neither time or distance are protection from those painful things you have stored up in your heart. The rush of feelings you thought you had dealt with or grown past rush back in like a burst damn. They wash over you and before you know it you are right back where you thought you would never be again.

The other truth of living a life in Christ is that for as great as God is the evil one never take a day off either. He is always looking for a foothold and will pounce at any given second if you let your guard down. Something will happen, you will make a connection with a long past familiar feeling and then within a matter of seconds you are in full freak out mode. Drenched in the certainty that something of equal significance is about to land in your life all over again.

My second truth is that in that moment of weakness I have learned the no matter what the evil one places in my path I know who is stronger. I can at that moment take a deep breath and move past the panic or the circumstance. I can recognize that even thought I may be facing something unforeseen, something that is bringing stress back into my life, the realty is that it is far from disastrous. The evil one just wants me to yield to the temptation to give up.

My next reality, I've got my big girl panties on!

I have been pruned so many time in the past by life's difficulties that I have some well worn prayer callus on my knees. My sisters in Christ are there to talk me down off the ledge and help me see the smoke screen of my internal fears.

I can do all thing though Him who strengthens me and the evil on can go sit on a tack! (Phil 4:13)

So there!

What all this about? Y'all are going to laugh when I tell you!

I have arthritis in my hip. Told ya!

I have been in some pretty extreme pain for several weeks now. I finally broke down and called the doctor. However given our current health insurance situation we have to pay 100% until we reach out gazillion dollar deductible. This means that any treatment not covered by the policy (and the only thing covered by the policy is a yearly physical and preventive diagnostic procedures like mammograms, if we get sick....if is not covered) fall fully in our lap. So this was coming straight out of our pocket 100%. I was over the top frustrated with the inability of any one at the doctors office to be able to give me any assistance in determining what the office visit would cost.

To give you some background history, I received a cancer diagnosis back in 1993, none of which was covered by our insurance we had at the time. So the entirety of the treatment fell in our lap. When all was said and done we ended up with over $25,000.00 worth of hospital and doctor bills. At the time we were basically just over the poverty line so we did not qualify for any government help. My life was a daily exercise in trying to figure out how to pay the bills. Not to mention being humiliated by soulless collection agencies and avoiding trips to the mail box to see what new bill was coming in that we could not pay for.

All this was so overwhelming that is completely overshadowed the most important factor. The surgery had been successful and I was going to be completely fine, yet even this outstanding news was completely overshadowed by the day to day black cloud that hovered over our household for over a decade.

Imagin a decade of being told by unscrupulous bill collectors that you are the worst kind of human being and that you are moments away from having your home and possessions taken away to settle your financial responsibilities. I was screamed at, called names, threatened, belittled and basically made to feel less than human but they weekly sometimes daily calls.

The remnants linger even today as I have an aversion to walking to the mailbox to retrieve the mail. I am still plagued by memories of the endless stream of bills that came in month after month that we could not pay.

So fast forward to yesterday. I was on the phone with the doctors office trying to find out how much the office visit was going to coast.

I think I would have had better luck trying to get my hands on the Dead Sea Scrolls then get a simple dollar amount for how much it was going to cost me to walk through the doors of the doctors office.

It happened so quickly, I was washed over by the familiar feeling.

"How will you be paying for this today?"

I was right back there in that situation in full freak out mode and I had not even left my recliner.

The reality is that our situation is totally different. Our financial situation is totally different. I am totally different, however in that brief moment the evil one stuck his foot in the door and went for a joy ride.

Even as a seasoned Christian, believing for over 25 year, studied the bible for over 20, knowing the truth I am still vulnerable to attack. In truth the evil one works even harder to distract those who are walking in the truth even more diligently.

To sum all this up. I am waiting on a call back to find out how much it will cost to stick a giant needle in my hip under local anesthesia. Yea for me.

If that does not work then there is hip replacement in my future.Double yea for me!

The difference is that even if I do have my moments of freaking out I also know that which is in the world is not stronger than that which is in me. (1 John 4:4)

Hip replacement is not Cancer?

I can do this!

Getting older is not for sissies, this is a true and reliable statement!

Blessings
R




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