A New Week But God Is Already There!

My mom is not doing very well at this time. She is a remarkable woman who has weathered many storms in her life but now she has become very frail in her eighty-three year sojourn here. She is currently fighting a series of infections and has been very weakened by the struggle. She told me this past weekend that she was ready to go home if the Lord was ready for her to come. There are many things that would bring comfort to those you love, but their knowing that you are ready to meet your Maker is perhaps the greatest comfort anyone could have.

I talked to her last night and she seems to be a little better. My prayer is that God would be merciful and that His will would be done. I am thankful that she is getting better because she is living proof that through it all God is faithful. She’s had pneumonia too many times but God has been good to bring her back and if He provides I look forward to celebrating another holiday season with her.


I did return to the doctor last Friday. Many people wonder if the medical system is broken in our country. On Friday I saw a couple of examples that makes you realize how the system works. While waiting patiently for my turn two different drug company representatives came in. The first did not stay; she just came by to drop off a huge bag of goodies from Starbucks. The second came in and told the receptionist he was sorry he was late but it took longer to get all the things she had ordered from IHOP because the take out line was so long. He had four grocery-sized bags of covered dishes from IHOP.

I know this is a part of how business is conducted but this fellow went in and stayed a good long while. Meanwhile, a room full of people waiting to see the doctor continued to do just that, wait. I finally got in, one hour and ten minutes after my appointment. Stuff like that agitates me. It has something to do with basic courtesy and respect. I didn’t want to even see the doctor but he had a lecture he wanted me to hear. Since I had been sending him the faxes on what was going on with the new medications he had given me, I guess he thought I was being a little too intense in trying to help manage my situation. Who would ever think that I would be like that?

The lecture was all about retraining your brain and how that over the many years I had allowed it to tell me what was good and bad due to a long conditioning process. It was a good story but to be honest not one single thing he said about what he had seen in people hit me as being even close to what I had experienced. He also chided me for being too much of a micro manager in trying to pursue each little detail involved in the treatment process. This was an accurate assessment and I had already recognized that I had been a little over the top in my reactions. I went on to tell him that at the very beginning I thought it must be a wrong blood test or diagnosis. When that didn’t pan out, I thought I could lick it with diet and discipline. Now that this appears to not be the case I suppose I was a little let down by it all. I asked how it could be that I went for sixty-one years without any need for medications and suddenly I’m popping handfuls. He laughed and said that perhaps the warranty on my pancreas had expired.

That’s what the world really needs, one more doctor who enjoys Starbucks and IHOP but deep down inside he wants to be a comedian. He did adjust another one of the medications he had changed, which tells you that I was not entirely off base in giving him feedback. But as a result of this visit I’ve decided to do my best to make this whole issue a background matter instead of it being so prevalent in all my waking moments. Maybe it was necessary to go through these steps to get by the proverbial “denial” stage.

God is good. I prayed for my mom and she’s better. I thank Him for that. We had a wonderful Bible study on Sunday, a good morning service, a good choir practice in the afternoon, and a good Sunday evening Bible study as well. I was able to participate in all these activities and then able to rise and shine at 3:20 a.m. this morning. While it may seem at times I am complaining, please be aware that I’m the first to appreciate how truly blessed I am. I do hope you have a good week and that you will remember to pay respect to those you love while there’s time to do so. Here’s something I found on the web that will help you have a good week. I know it would very much apply to me!

A Little Poem Of Praise

I just want

to shout it out Lord,

I want to climb

to the highest moutaintop

and tell the whole world

how great and wonderful

and amazing our loving,

awesome God is.

I just want to dance,

and sing His praises!

(But then, the way

I dance and sing,

God would probably say,

"That's okay,

you can sit down.

......but thanks anyway!"

…. more later.