You know your day may be headed in the wrong direction when your are driving on the freeway and your horn sticks while you are surrounded by a motorcyle gang.

Just back from a wonderful day spent with my dear mother. It will be a day that I will long remember. I was able to attend services with mom and dad up at First Baptist. The meeting place was full. There was a buzz about because the little town's high school baseball team had won the state championship for the first time in their history. The pastor was doing his best to connect up the baseball victory to mother's day. Of course all the boys who played had a mom, so I suppose that was close enough. He, like no telling how many others, used Proverbs 31 to present God's vision for a Godly woman and mom. It was good to be there. I saw some folks that I played with when I was a kid. There was also a baptismal service. It answered a question. Does it really matter what we hand off to our children, and their children, and their children, and their children? Well, on that day it did! My mom's great, great grandson was baptized! We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a restaurant in a nearby town. It was my privilege to host them for this luncheon. As we sat there, mom noticed a little white haired lady eating alone. She whispered something to dad. Dad said he knew the manager and he would take care of it. She had dad pay for that lady's lunch. The lady didn't find out about it until we were long gone, and she would not have a clue who had paid for her lunch. But I knew. That's my mom. I had left at 6 a.m. Sunday morning and got home around 8:30 p.m. last evening, but if that wasn't a good tired, I don't know what one would look like. Mom and dad are such special gifts and we thank God for them!


I do bring you greetings on this Monday, May 14, 2012. As most of you know, I am a diabetic (Type 2). I do my thing in trying to exercise control over the things I can have some influence over. I have learned it is at times a slippery slope. I also try to stay informed. I read most of the stuff that makes headlines about this disease and of course I pay attention to any information that seems to offer improved management going forward. I occasionally read the individual comments on some of the social exchange forums dedicated to those who deal with this disease. The other day I read one on the Diabetes Daily website that caught my attention. This gentleman with Type 2 for a number of years was essentially pouring his heart out. He had recently been diagnosed with Diabetic Neuropathy. This is an insidiously painful outcome resulting from nerve damage and it impacts 50% of those diagnosed. It takes typically between 10 and 20 years for this to rear its ugly head. This fellow was decimated because he had sacrificed so much to stay within the targets on his blood sugars, and to practice all the rules he had been given. He was hurting from the inside out and my heart went out to him. Many responded with words of encouragement but I could sense his despondency. That wasn't a really good way for me to start my day but here's the thing: Many people do their best in whatever it is they are dealing with, but that doesn't mean guaranteed success. It's like the lifelong jogger, who, even at an advanced age, he was in tremendous physical shape, however, he was still dead after having been hit by a car. The bottom line is that we should respond based on the knowledge and information God has allowed us to have, but we should also always know that our life is in His hands and we are safe, not because of things working out like we want them to, but only because we belong to Him, and no matter what happens, we will live with Him forever and ever, Amen.

This is why we all should do our best, with God's help, to live in the present tense, and do with each day all we can to please God and serve others. We personally know folks who have lost limbs because of the same disease I carry in my body. We personally know folks who have succumbed to end stage renal failure that moved them from this life to their eternal reward. I'm not unaware of these things and I admit that they do weigh on my mind from time to time. However, I have learned that dwelling on these possibilities is a huge downer when I can choose to be thankful for today, for feeling well enough to get up and go, and for the untold blessings God provides to me. This doesn't mean that I am not interested in promising drug therapies or enhanced treatment options. I am. But one of the things I have learned during these nearly five years is how easily anyone can become obsessed with all of the above. On most days I choose not to be a captive. Most days. Sure, I get a little stirred up when my blood sugar is way out of the range I am targeting, but typically I resolve to try to do what I can better to help make those numbers closer to the 'safe' range, if there is such a range. The good news, bad news, is how this disease is growing by leaps and bounds. Bad news because more and more of our children, especially those who are overweight, are being diagnosed at an early age with Type 2. The good news is how that this huge problem represents a huge financial opportunity in terms of finding new treatments and even pursuing cures. Meanwhile, I have today. That's the one I have been given. It really is up to me to allow God to work through me, on this day, in the land of the here and now!

That's probably more than I would typically share about this unwelcome intruder into my life, but things like this come with the territory marked: Life in a fallen world. I am very thankful that as the old song says, "this world is not my home, I am just passing through, because my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue." No. I am not looking for an escape because I have something much better than that. I have these truths that inform my faith giving me the very assurance of these things from God Himself. Do I have doubts or do I wobble from time to time? Yes. This does happen because we are in the flesh and sometimes we get our thoughts all tangled up as we fail to be energized by the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. When that happens I need, you need, we all need to be reminded that as beggars we need to know where to find bread. In this case, the Bread of Life. What's that you say? It sounds like I have gone from sharing to preaching? I suppose so but maybe there's someone out there dealing with stuff that has caused them to lose contact with their Lifeline. He hasn't moved. He is still there and He is ready and willing to supply that which we stand in need of. Maybe I am the one who needed this today. Maybe you are. It does begin with recognizing our need and I will be first in line in that regard. I do pray that you all will have a blessed day. Amen.    ....More later.