And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. Titus 3:14
I learned today that it pays to take good notes. When I had to replace a healthcare supplier within a few days (or lose my mind!), I was glad to find my notes from the research that I did at the beginning of receiving home infusions 7 months ago. Perhaps back then I should have gone with that other company instead? Oh well. I got to work with their Patient Care Coordinator this time and she is wonderful!
I learned this past week how being off from work and having less income has helped me to find inexpensive continuing education credits that I never knew existed before I got sick. Looks like NINE of the TWELVE hours required will be FREE! Yeah God! I will be able to keep my occupational therapy license one more year!
I learned this past month a deeper definition of true love as demonstrated in the life of my husband, Steve. First some background: we had to cancel a trip to see his family this past summer when his dad was in too much back pain to travel cross-country to our rendezvous point in Branson, Missouri. His mom was disappointed that the celebration of her 80th birthday was postponed until Thanksgiving. Then our trip to meet up with his family in Texas in November got cancelled when I landed in the Emergency Room five days before departure with severe back pain. I wasn’t even able to go out to dinner with Steve on Thanksgiving (which means I missed celebrating our wedding anniversary on the same day!). As you saw from my last blog, Steve’s response was simply that we were, “saving money left and right!” Well, yes and well, no. His parents are aging. Visiting them at their home in California is complicated due to my extreme sensitivities. Perhaps Steve will be making a visit early next year and when my health is more stable. In the meantime he just continues to be a wonderful loving husband. I am so grateful for his love and devotion. Often he is my “Jesus with skin on.”
I learned this past year the meaning of the phrase Carpe diem. Each little trip, each tender moment between Steve and I, each time the garden got watered or weeds got pulled were realizations of moments when I could do a little more. The numerous moments that were quite opposite just made “seizing the day,” more special. We have learned to be more spontaneous to enjoy the good graces of the Lord even when they last but an hour or two. Carpe diem baby!
I learned these past 5 years of serious illness to call upon the Lord for everything.
Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version (NIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Whether it’s finding the money for medical treatments or getting myself up to go to the bathroom when seizing, my Lord and Savior cares for the details of my life and gets it done. He is there when I am awake in the middle of the night. He provided that relic airplane for me to sit under on a sweltering summer day so my husband could fulfill a dream at Oshkosh. My Jesus will be joining us in celebration when I become well again someday too.
And lastly, I have loved learning the value of writing Hope Beyond. It’s not quite an online journal but a way of looking from the inside out. I hope to point you, precious Gentle Reader, to more than the saga of my situation but to the glory that awaits both of us when we place our trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ. As Steve and I say in our Christmas letter this year:
No matter what our perspective may be, the most important view at Christmas (or anytime) is the one that brings us closer to the person of Jesus Christ. We stand in awe of His sacrifice for us that brings unspeakable joy, knowing Him as Lord and Savior over all. He loves His own more than words can say: the best Christmas gift of all.
Going beyond our temporal learning to the eternal love of Christ can be our gift today, next month, next year, 5 years from now, and beyond.
Gentle Reader, what do you say that you have learned? Please let me know, k? JJ
Jesus is for the Wounded 