Recently my grandmother suffered a hematoma (a blood clot in the brain). They had to do emergency brain surgery to try to fix it. At one point before the surgery the doctors were telling my family that she might not make it. The surgery went well but she is currently still in the ICU trying to recover from complications brought on by the hematoma.
My wife and I went up to see her on the day of her surgery to be with her and my family. On our way back I called my grandmother’s sister, Dot, to give her an update on the situation. I told her that the surgery had gone better than expected but that she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Here is basically what she said to me.
“Ryan, when I heard that she was in trouble and needed surgery and might not make it I went numb and tingly. I just didn’t think I could handle another one. I just don’t think I could do it. But, you know, the Lord knows what He’s doing and He gives us the strength to bear whatever He takes us through.”
You see, my great aunt Dot lost her husband of about 50 years no less than 2 months ago and lost her aunt that same week. Now she was about to lose her sister. But in all that she was trusting the Lord’s will and trusting that He would help her through those trials. I was blown away when she said that to me. What an amazing faith in God! What a submissive will to the will of the Father! What an example of experienced trust in the Lord! How I hope I would have such a strong faith in a similar situation.
In Sunday morning's live performance of the "Back to Eden" series of skits, Jeff Hutchison and Charlie Hall (a very close relative) gave us a funny look at the perils of "baggage" handling. Jeff's must-have items for his journey included three mismatched suitcases packed with a hodgepodge of necessities including things pretty, tasty, fun, and very, very heavy (that's where the kitchen/bathroom sink came in). Doug, in his sermon, then asked "What's in YOUR Bag?"
What's in my bag? More than I care to admit - even to myself. One bag contains my obsession with the extra 30 or so pounds I've gained in the past couple of years thanks to unrestrained amounts of salty, fatty, and sweet foods. Another holds the chip on my shoulder from the distorted perception that others have had easier, happier, wealthier, skinnier, etc. lives than me. But the heaviest and ugliest bag of all is splitting at the seams with bad attitude. Can you relate?
I just completed week 3 of the final marathon training, a divinely inspired goal with two incredibly godly women that I'm thankful to call friends. In addition to my alarm clock, you know what wakes me up at 5:30am each morning? Doubt, fear, and laziness in the form of "What are you thinking? You can't do this! It's too hard. You have zero ability. It hurts. Why not give up now and save yourself the frustration and embarrassment of failing?"
Been there? In his book entitled What to Say When You Talk to Yourself, Shad Helmstetter writes that 77% of what we think is negative. Read that again. For most of us, seventy-seven percent of everything we say to ourselves is negative! And have no doubt, the brain believes what we tell it most.
I hope you'll join me in working to lighten the load of a bad self-attitude. Remember, "be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2) See you at baggage check-in!
* "...Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?
Luke 24:38
* "As a rule, attitudes are justifiers of behavior rather than causes of it."
The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer
* "...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us."
Hebrews 12:1
* Behave out of what you know is truth rather than what you feel...If you don't start thinking differently, you will never feel differently.
Beth Moore
* "I love you, Lord. You are my strength."
Psalm 18:1
* The enemy wants to make the clean feel unclean in hopes that they will act unclean.
Beth Moore
* Oh, the difference a mind can make!!!
(Those not in quotes are my own paraphrasings; my apologies to the original authors)
Feeling discouraged with a lack of recognizable progress in losing weight? working your way out of debt? improving a relationship? growing in your walk with God?
I'm a maniac of a reader and usually have 4-5 books in progress on my night table plus a few books and magazines hidden under my bed. My readings of late have headed in a new direction; motivation, encouragement and education for a major goal Kathy Davis and I began to work towards a few months ago - running a marathon (26.2 miles) across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on October 19.
I've read boocoodles of books, magazines, and websites on the subject, and for the past 4 months we've been running an average of 12 miles each week. What do I have to show for it? Dirty running shoes, a half-filled journal and running clothes that won't have that fresh clean smell ever, ever again. Have I lost weight? Not a pound. Are my legs lean, toned and tan? Not even close. Do I look forward to the early morning runs? Only in getting them overwith. So why do it? Because this goal has God written all over it. And I'm guessing that whatever journey you're on does too.
How can we stay (or get) motivated to keep "press[ing] on toward the goal" (Phil. 3:14)? Below are a few excerpts from my readings that have truly helped me along my path. May God bless you with one or two that speak to your heart.
* It's about progress - not perfection.
* Focus on the positive. (As sappy as it sounds, it really does make a difference)
* "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin..."
Zechariah 4:10
* "God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience. "
Oswald Chambers
* "For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him."
Philippians 2:13
* I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me."
Psalm 16:8
* "Perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. [Your] life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the [you] cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while [you] say, "I can’t take any more." Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God's hands."
Oswald Chambers
* "So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time."
Galatians 6:9
Remember, it's more than a journey, it's an adventure...a God-inspired adventure.
Some in this world may feel that they never do anything of importance -- at least not worth mentioning to others. The story below may change your mind if you have ever felt this way before:
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His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life." "No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer.
At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family. "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of." And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.
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So there you have it. The "rest of the story." Go forth and do wondrous things --great and small.