It only takes a moment for life to zig when you're expecting a zag.
I was feeling fine one day, the next morning I started to dehydrate. About every year or so I go through this because of a condition I have. The normal routine when this happens is to go to the emergency room, spend about 5 to 8 hours, get a concentrated dose of meds, put on my superman cape and get on with life. This time was different.
I grew weak that morning, aching all over and unable to keep anything down most importantly, my medications. My hands began to shrivel up like a syringe was sucking all the moisture out of them. By the time Lucy got me to the ER, I felt like my 4'8"inch frame had shrunk to 3'8"...Because I was so severely dehydrated, my veins began to collapse and drawing blood became an issue. I was in ER for eleven hours before being admitted.
It took nearly five days for me to stabilize and get my exit pass from St. Luke's. As I lay in bed watching one exciting television program after another and talking to God, I wondered a lot and whined a little. I thought about what I was suppose to learn from all this, besides watch less television.
The Bible tells us that it rains on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45) just as it did in the days of Noah. The difference between Noah and the others was that he got the promise of the rainbow. Bad things happen to all people at some time but as believers in the one true God we can hope in a rainbow at the end of every adverse situation.
Rainbows are lovely but you don't get to see them unless you go through a little rain. Lucy and I have had a bit of rain these past two months. We're believing for a beautiful rainbow! Our hope is continually in God (Psalm 71:14)
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Where's George?
No, this isn't a story about where our former president is.
I delighted to report the granola bar saga is finally over. My permanent dental bridge arrived yesterday. While the dental assistant, Erica, was working her magic on the ivories, Dr. Davis came by to see how I was doing. I never could figure out why a dentist asks you questions while his assistant has your mouth full of sharp metal objects.
He saw on my form that I was a minister and asked where I was a pastor. When I told him I was one of those itinerant, traveling guys and that I did Biblical one man dramas, Erica asked if I would come to her church. So when she had completed her duties, I gave her a brochure for her pastor.
Later when I got home, I checked my emails and saw that I had an email from my dentist. Dr. D. asked me to come back to the office as he wanted to give us a donation. You can bet I scurried back to his office. It's not every day a dentist gives his patient money!
When we entered his office, he gave us 50 one dollar bills. On each was written www.wheresgeorge.com. If you go to this site, you can track where your dollar bills go and how fast they got to where they went!
So we're going to give away these bills as we walk and ask the receiver to register the bills on "Where's George?" so the good doctor can follow us and his money around America. As the dollar travels from where we left it, he can continue to watch it move from city to state to country as long as people register the bill.
Aaaah! If we could only track our government's spending so well.
I delighted to report the granola bar saga is finally over. My permanent dental bridge arrived yesterday. While the dental assistant, Erica, was working her magic on the ivories, Dr. Davis came by to see how I was doing. I never could figure out why a dentist asks you questions while his assistant has your mouth full of sharp metal objects.
He saw on my form that I was a minister and asked where I was a pastor. When I told him I was one of those itinerant, traveling guys and that I did Biblical one man dramas, Erica asked if I would come to her church. So when she had completed her duties, I gave her a brochure for her pastor.
Later when I got home, I checked my emails and saw that I had an email from my dentist. Dr. D. asked me to come back to the office as he wanted to give us a donation. You can bet I scurried back to his office. It's not every day a dentist gives his patient money!
When we entered his office, he gave us 50 one dollar bills. On each was written www.wheresgeorge.com. If you go to this site, you can track where your dollar bills go and how fast they got to where they went!
So we're going to give away these bills as we walk and ask the receiver to register the bills on "Where's George?" so the good doctor can follow us and his money around America. As the dollar travels from where we left it, he can continue to watch it move from city to state to country as long as people register the bill.
Aaaah! If we could only track our government's spending so well.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A Bump In The Road!
We started this year declaring 2009 a year of HOPE (confident expectation that God was doing something good). Despite a shaky January, we believe that more than ever!
Our latest adventure was a 5 day retreat at St Luke's Hospital South here in Kansas. The reason is still a bit unclear. The initial diagnosis was severe dehydration (they couldn't find my veins to take a blood sample!), then a bone scan was added and a benign spot on the lung was detected. Although that sounds a bit roughed...and it had it's moments...here comes the good part.
We can't qualify for health insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions and yet that did not stop the medical professionals at St. Luke's from doing their best to get me well! Their first thought was taking care of me, their second thought was communicating what was going on to Lucy and their last thought was getting paid. Refreshing, isn't it?
So, you may ask what does that have to do with HOPE? Well, we always have a confident expectation that God is doing something good for us in every situation we're in, regardless of how it may look on the outside. Most of us love to see rainbows but we'd never get a chance to appreciate one if it didn't rain sometime. God reminded us, He is always with us, even in the tough times. You can count on Him!
Perhaps the skeptics out there are thinking "Yeah,but how about those medical bills? Bone scan, CAT scan, blood tests...Whew! That all adds up." It sure does and how much it's all going to cost is yet to be determined.
This one thing we do know. This was just a bump in the road of life. We are blessed to live in America where we can get the care we need when we need it. We know our God is making a way for us to pay our medical bills. We may not know how or when but we don't mind the rain because there's a rainbow coming!..... Whoa!......Check out the colors on that!
Our latest adventure was a 5 day retreat at St Luke's Hospital South here in Kansas. The reason is still a bit unclear. The initial diagnosis was severe dehydration (they couldn't find my veins to take a blood sample!), then a bone scan was added and a benign spot on the lung was detected. Although that sounds a bit roughed...and it had it's moments...here comes the good part.
We can't qualify for health insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions and yet that did not stop the medical professionals at St. Luke's from doing their best to get me well! Their first thought was taking care of me, their second thought was communicating what was going on to Lucy and their last thought was getting paid. Refreshing, isn't it?
So, you may ask what does that have to do with HOPE? Well, we always have a confident expectation that God is doing something good for us in every situation we're in, regardless of how it may look on the outside. Most of us love to see rainbows but we'd never get a chance to appreciate one if it didn't rain sometime. God reminded us, He is always with us, even in the tough times. You can count on Him!
Perhaps the skeptics out there are thinking "Yeah,but how about those medical bills? Bone scan, CAT scan, blood tests...Whew! That all adds up." It sure does and how much it's all going to cost is yet to be determined.
This one thing we do know. This was just a bump in the road of life. We are blessed to live in America where we can get the care we need when we need it. We know our God is making a way for us to pay our medical bills. We may not know how or when but we don't mind the rain because there's a rainbow coming!..... Whoa!......Check out the colors on that!
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