Remembering What I Have Learned

Greetings,

     You will, no doubt, notice the gap between posts.  I have been struggling with my health issues and have not had the heart to update you as much as I would like.  Once again the consequences of brain surgery have crept back into my life.  Not that they had really disappeared it's just they have become more persistent and more powerful.  I have to admit that losing 60% of my vision, 75% of my hearing, blackouts that find me on the floor, a continuous heart rate of 110 bpm, and pain that, sometimes, takes me to my knees, has gotten my spirits in the toilet.  My ego has been bruised and my self-loathing has kicked in.  What's the matter with me?  Well, I think I know!
     One of the great thing about this blog is that I have the opportunity to whine to anyone and everyone who might come across this site.  Some of you I know and some of you I don't.  But in the midst of whining I have also gone back and read some of my earlier blogs.  Some helped and some didn't.  However, I was blessed with the chance to remember what I learned.  I hope these  10 ideas will help you as you journey through life's struggles.

     Since my brain surgeries I have learned that:
1)  Things always get worse before they get better (that's OK because perseverance builds character)
2)  It' OK to cry a little, or a lot  (it always seems to make me feel better)
3)  Pain is good! (it reminds me that I am not dead!)
4)  It is impossible to go through life's struggles alone (family and friends are sometimes the best medicine)
5)  Giving things up is hard (but sometimes you just have to do it)
6)  God is never as far away as it seems (He is usually closer than you think)
7)  Life isn't hard it's just life (but sometimes life is better than other times!)
8)  Insurance companies are of the DEVIL! (no explanation needed!)
9)  What is on the other side of mountain is not important- the journey you take to get there is!
10)  Finally, I have learned that peace can be found, healing can be attained, and suffering can be comforted  if we can only start the journey towards God!

     Throughout my years of health related challenges I have found all ten of those thoughts to be, absolutely true.  It would only stand to reason that if they were true yesterday they must be true today.  I should listen to myself more of often!
     My prayer for you this day is that you would persevere.  That each one of you would look at your situation in life, whatever that may be, and be encouraged that change comes, that God is real, and that He cares about each one of us.  It may seem like, at times, that He has abandoned you.  I know that feeling, and yet when looking back, I also know that my God was with me every step of the way.  So, as I begin a new journey filled with neurologists, neurosurgeons, emergency rooms, family doctors,  and medical bills that fill my mailbox everyday, I stop for a moment to take stock in what has been gained and lost.  I stop to remember what I learned from the past and apply it to my future.  I am a person of action, I have been put on this earth to do something and that is what I am going to do.  No longer will I set back and let my health dictate who I am.  I will meet this new challenge with heart and determination.  I will make good and wise choices!
     So, off we go into another challenge!  A challenge that I have no intention of losing!  May God bless you this day as you seek His comfort and peace!

Blessings,

Derek