Just last night, I spent time with one of my favourite people. Nothing you would call extraordinary. We didn't dine at the best hotel in town but you know what they say; time with special people doing ordinary stuff turns out to be special. We were talking about how 2015 had begun. My neighbours lost everything in a fire on new year's eve. I got home a little after 10pm looking forward to having a peaceful night. Little did I know that was not going to be.
After a quick shower I went to bed imploring my father to cause me to abide under his shadow till morning. I drifted off to sleep, afterall the load shedding was still on and my phone went off so I did not have much to do.
I woke up around 3 a m to pee and for hours I could not pee. Don't even try to imagine the pain. I could tell how this was going to end up. In the hospital laying flat on my back for the doctor to relieve me of my pain. Yes it was going to be painful and all but the pain I would go through was the very least of my worry at the time.
My mind rather began to drift off. I began to think of all the people I was not at peace with. The people I stopped talking to because I thought they had hurt me in one way or the other. The calls I do not pick and never even bother to return; whether from the old or young. The people I just disregard all in the name of self respect. Not forgetting the people whose boyfriends I go to have a drink with at the expense of their girlfriends. If I say a drink it actually ends there because I'm a girl who overly respects and adores her body. I'm particular about who I share it with. That's just me. Morality matters to me but here I was thinking. Perhaps having a drink with someone's boyfriend is wrong... The people who had hurt me, who I vowed never to have anything to do with yet still kept in my pain web. Then I also thought of the stuff I thought I owed God. In October or so, I split my tithe into two and paid just half of it.
I even thought of all the bad stuff I had done. Wow, how your mind is constantly in overdrive when you see the end approaching. I was doing the thinking whilst I could not pee..hmmm. I quickly dismissed the negative thoughts. I was not suffering because of my sins. Afterall, if anyone is in christ, he becomes a new creation, old things are past and gone, all things have become new. This scripture helped me regain my confidence as a child of God. Then I felt at peace. That was when I began to fully trust my God to see me through. I was confident that 'he was wounded for my transgressions, bruised for my iniquities and the chastisement for my peace was upon him and by his strife I'm healed...Isaiah 53:5.
I have friends who constantly cannot sleep at night. I have seen people who can only sleep with a machine because they have sleep apnea. I have seen people who cannot eat through their mouth. I have seen people who cannot breathe freely and then I know that there are others who cannot pass urine too.
It is necessary to cherish the gift of life. It is only when your body cannot perform certain basic functions by itself that you begin to realise how lucky you have been in the past. You also begin to crave for another chance. We need to cherish simple things like being able to eat through your mouth, pass urine by yourself not with the help of a catheter, sleep by yourself not with a sleeping machine, breathe freely amongst others. Even being able to see, hear and talk is a privilege we take for granted.
No one can understand the depth of my praise this evening when I sing Don Moen's;
'God is good
All the time
He put a song of praise in this heart of mine
God is
All the time
God is good.....'
Don Moen definitely had my situation in mind singing that song. Last night was a tough night. This morning, God came through for me. I know he's working things out for me; whether ugly,serious, bad, written off, my case is not finished yet. He knows how to compensate me.
I'm out of the woods now. Thanks to everyone who worried about me because they've probably not heard from me today. Sorry I could not reply your whatsapp messages or pick your calls. Now you know where I've been. To hell and back. I'm not sad about the pain; every pain has an expiry date.
I'm just grateful to be alive this evening. I'm grateful for his healing power. I'm grateful he put a song of praise in my mouth.
This post is inspired by Don Moen's 'God is good'. Dedicating this to everyone whose body cannot perform certain basic functions.
I pray God is good to you, just like he has been to me from last night till now.
Nice piece once again.
ReplyDeleteThank you Richard.
DeleteThank you Richard.
ReplyDelete“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening,God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” Hebrews 12:6-7.
ReplyDeleteThere’s a terrible misunderstanding among believers today about God’s method of disciplining His children just like u indicated in ur article the last time, I think on the 3rd. U were right cos they’ll point to some kind of disaster―a tornado or a car accident―and say,“I guess God sent that catastrophe to teach us something. U were right also. Cos ”No,He didn’t!.A loving God doesn’t send death, sickness and destruction on His children to instruct them.He doesn’t unleash His bad dog to bite us on the leg, so we’ll learn to wear our boots!.How does He chastise His own?
With His Word.Second Timothy 3:16-17 says, “Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction,for reproof and conviction of sin,for correction of error and discipline in obedience,[and] for training in righteousness (in holy living,in conformity to God’s will in thought,purpose, and action), so that the man of God may be complete and proficient,well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work” (The Amplified Bible).
If you’ll look in 2 Corinthians 7,you’ll see an example of this.There the Apostle Paul talks about a situation in the Corinthian church that needed correction.That church had gotten out of line and had to be disciplined.How did Paul do it?.Not by asking God to send an earthquake to shake them up! He did it by writing them a letter.He wrote them a word of reproof that hurt so badly they would have preferred being beaten with a stick.It cut deep into their spirits and brought them to repentance.
Your heavenly Father loves you and because He does,He will chasten you. But He’ll do it with spiritual, not fleshly tools. He’ll use the spirit-power in His Word to chasten unbelief and purify your spirit in such a way that you’ll come out strong,not weak and condemned. So quit bowing down to disasters and start subjecting yourself instead to the Word of God.Yield to the Word.Let it correct you and trim away the flesh and the lusts that lead you astray.Remember, the sword of the Spirit is two-edged―one side is for Satan and the other side is for you. Let God use it to keep you in line!.2 Corinthians 7.
He will use this situation to give u a testimony.. u will be healed and it will never return again...
stay blessed and have a peaceful day..So a friend sent me this today after reading this particular write up and I thought I would share
So a friend sent me this today, after reading this particular write up and I thought I would share....
DeleteThanks Martin.
DeleteA week on.....
ReplyDeleteTo God be the glory
My strength, thy grace..
ReplyDeleteMy rule thy word..
My end the glory of the Lord.