Christ – Page 6 – Jesus is for the Wounded

The people you meet

Published on January 4, 2016January 5, 2016 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

We may never have shared

A cup of coffee or tea

But you are my friend

Even when your face I cannot see.

Seems strange to those

Who are able to come and go

That a virtual friend

Would be as real as one I have known.

For although face to face

Is the best way by far

To carry the love, the tears

The joys from here to thar-

Then if life doesn’t work

Like the norm as it does for me

I am glad there are others

To be your hands and feet.

The Lord counts each of us

His friends though He is not here

No longer flesh but in Spirit

And He will always be near.

Perhaps it’s nearly the same

With my friends when housebound

That chat via Facebook or Skype

Is messaging as if hanging around.

Who cares what we wear

Or go when together my dear

My ‘Droid knows you’re there

And I’ll always for you be near.

Like a brother, like a sister

A cyber-version of sorts

I am grateful just the same

When life is a bite in the shorts.

Thank you for being

Out there and in my heart

Drop me a line sometime soon

In turn I will do my part.

We’ll help each other along

To get through this life

Having travelled the world

Sometimes all in one night!

This little ditty now ends

Godspeed and blessings galore

For the people we both meet

Adds life to our adventure and more.

With love,

The Night Watch

Published on June 23, 2015June 23, 2015 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

And so the night watch begins

As my beloved tucks himself part way under the covers, the cool air circulates around him and our home.

He looks so peaceful as he collapses into bed,

Having worked the day long and again this evening to make things right with our world.

The pup slumbers on the floor behind me

With her own watchful eye as the big storm rumbles outside in the darkness;

Another night begins and I am hungry

The wretched episode and weathering inside my own body now behind me once again.

It’s a strange life, that is clear:

The promise of new treatments,
my meager attempts to go on . . .

Let me pretend I am doing something worthwhile

When my world stops shaking and I find you here, Gentle Reader, ready to make sense of it all.

Sometimes there is no sense to be made

We simply endure, do our due diligence to survive:

Touching something meaningful when the opportunity comes our way

Then letting it all go to the escape of sleep whether by night or by the dawn cometh soon.

Perhaps this night will bring fruitfulness

Maybe I’ll be able to write something of worth?

There is certainly much to do alone here with you as the keys light up and my mind slowly turns on;

My Lord is here with me so something good, something meaningful might happen yet this evening!

Since I cannot be sure but the time will pass anyways,

I better get something to eat before “dinner” slides into breakfast, hunger into weakness

Then maybe my brain will come back online too. If this is to be my shift I better get to my assigned duties of late —

If I am to be awake, the most of it I shall make again and again. Who knows, maybe something good may be too?

Yes, something good may be too. JJ

Keeping Calm

Published on September 5, 2013September 5, 2013 by Jesus is for the Wounded2 Comments

Jesus Calms the Storm

²²One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. ²³As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

²⁴The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.²⁵“Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” (Luke 8)

This is such a great story isn’t it? The newbie disciples did not know that there was no way that they could drown with the God of the universe in the boat with them! And further, the story illustrates the omnipotence of God, that even the raging seas obey Him. This story also reminds me of a message from Pastor David Jeremiah in which he taught the truth that a person in the middle of God’s will cannot perish until the Lord’s work is completed in him or her. “Cannot perish!” Wow. Sure makes my fears and worries worthless. If I could just remind myself of these truths in the midst of my own storms then surely I would be a better instrument for the Lord . . .

I might have made some progress last night. Allow me to explain. When reeling from 1 1/2 hours of relentless seizure attacks, I eeked out to my husband, “I need help.” Within moments were on our way to the emergency room of a local hospital. All I could think about was, “thank you” to Steve and, “I’m going to get help.”

Getting that help took a long time. First there’s the registration, then the review of the bazillion supplements, compounded medications, and meds, and the $100 emergency room co-payment. The ER Doc asked a few questions, called my family doctor, and a nurse started an IV. 200cc of fluids and some pain meds began to flow through the sore IV line in my frail forearms. And amazingly within about 20 minutes, the seizing stopped. Praise the Lord! I actually started to feel sort of normal. Even the neck headache from the thrashing of my head went away. Wow.

What I did not expect was the diagnosis. While I am not going to go into the details here, I will say that I was shocked. Both Steve and I did not agree about what was written on the page. Sensing the anger rise up within me, gratefully, I started to pray instead: Lord, help me to handle this as you would.

I asked to speak to the ER Doc and expressed my concerns. He said that to change the diagnosis would be fraud. I believe that I respectfully disagreed and stated that as a licensed healthcare professional myself, I understand both the responsibility of medical documentation: to get it right and to respect the future implications for the patient. I thanked him for the treatment that stopped the seizures. Later I chose to “qualify” my signature on the discharge instructions in a way that indicated that while I received the discharge paperwork, I did not agree with its contents. Then we left.

It is now 28 hours later and I have not had another seizure-like episode! Praise the Lord! The “seas” remain calm and I was able to get some restorative sleep; I even caught up on a few errands this evening with my pup in tow. I have begun some online research related to my experience of the past day and started pounding electrolyte replacements to keep myself hydrated. My Lord is the only one who knows what the next day holds for me . . . will I make it to an unrelated doctor appointment tomorrow or even a quick outdoor outing with my hubby mid-day? Or will the attacks return as I lie on the bed a few minutes from now? The latter has been my life for virtually all of the past 1 1/2 years . . .

Keep calm. Keeping calm. Trusting that the Lord who calms the seas can not only get me from this evening to the morning, He can get me through all of the stormy days of my life. Oh Lord, care for my beloved Stevers as well and restore Him from the stress of riding things out in the rocky boat with me. May we both keep our eyes fixed on you with amazement for all that you have done and all that you have yet to do in our lives. Thank you for the help. I will entrust you with the details as I lay them at Your throne of grace.

Goodnight all, Just Julie

Psalm 121