He is with me wherever I go!

Hello friends and neighbors, it is Tuesday, January 26, 2010 and it's somewhat hard to imagine that we have nearly used up the first month of our brand new year. I am still trying to get my stuff transferred from my 2009 calendar book to the new one. Since our clan has grown so much, it's a sizable effort just to keep up with all the birthdays and other special remembrance days. But God is good to allow us the opportunity to be out and about, active, and mostly occupied, most all the time. When the doctor asked me last week how I was doing, I felt compelled to quote from an elderly gentleman I used to go to Church with: "If I kicked, I ought to be!" Of course I am still awaiting the results from the lab tests and that will likely indicate whether we need to adjust my medication regimen. But for the most part I am in pretty good shape for the shape I am in. I told the doctor that I sleep well, I am able to work twelve hours a day, and pretty much feel reasonably okay. Sure, I would prefer not to have to be concerned about the diabetes and the aches and pains associated with my arthritis BUT those seem insignificant compared to so many others who are dealing with serious health issues.

I was by the hospital a couple of times over this past weekend to visit a dear man from our local fellowship who had suffered a stroke and it doesn't take long being in a place like that to realize the life and death struggle faced by so many, every single day. It's so much easier for me to identify with those of us who are older but my heart melts when I see little ones having to deal with serious health issues. It reminds me that we live in a fallen world where we need God and His provisions of mercy and grace every second of every minute of every day. I am also reminded of how blessed we are to live at a time when so much in the way of medical knowledge and technology is available to respond to crisis situations. I had just seen my dear brother last Wednesday evening in our Bible study. He has many health related problems but he told me how well he had been doing of late. On Saturday morning he suffered a major stroke. We never know what each day will bring but thank God that my friend knows, and we know, who does.

Being able to hold the hand of one of God's own dear children as they struggle for the next breath allows us to pray with confidence, not because we know the immediate outcomes, but because we know the One who does, and we also know that He cares. When it is all said and done we who know the Lord have an amazing advantage over others because we have His very presence to see us through whatever we are dealing with in our life. What a difference this makes, folks, and what a blessing to see this difference reflected in the lives of those dealing with great challenge. Concerned? Sure. Wearied? Understandably so! But at the same time there is the sweet glow of that spark of confidence born out of the heart knowledge that God is with us, no matter what, every step of the way. I thank God for this testimony of His grace and I commend Him and His offer of salvation to any and all who seek peace in what often is a turned upside down world. As the song my wife and I used to sing says: "Jesus is right for whatever is wrong in your life!" Amen. .....More later.