It's almost Christmas! It's the most wonderful time of the year! And sometimes one of the most difficult times of the year. The season can be described with many other adjectives as well, depending on what's happening in our lives.
The past week has been challenging. I had surgery a week ago today. It's the only surgery I've had in 2016, so compared to last year, I was thinking this is nothing. I had allocated myself time off, but decided I was better earlier than scheduled so I hit the ground running on Friday morning. And hit the wall by Saturday night.
I have an eye injection on Thursday (so far, there is no improvement in my eye - no end in sight for monthly injections). Shoulder surgery is scheduled for January; I will have my arm in an immobilizer for 6 weeks, and at least 4 weeks of PT, 3 times a week.
The combo of not feeling good and upcoming medical stuff set me up for a bit of a pity party on Sunday. I've been trying to sort out a lot of things, including figuring out a work schedule that makes sense with my continuing medical stuff. As I was thinking, I felt like God was reminding me of something that I had heard Him say about a month ago.
"Quit focusing on what you can't see / what you've 'lost', and think about all the blessings in your life." As I went to sleep last night, that's what was on my mind.
This morning, I noticed a Proverbs 31 devo talking about not being able to see the road ahead. I thought the title was interesting but didn't take time to read it. Then a few hours later, a good friend sent me a message which included that very devo; she talked about how God had been prompting her to pray for me and how the devo was so timely. As I read it, so many things on my heart were confirmed. Here are excerpts from the devo:
"In Mark chapter 10, a blind man named Bartimaeus sat beside the road — as he normally did — when he heard a commotion. He soon discovered the large crowd of people following Jesus. And they were all headed his way.
Bartimaeus had no idea what was going to happen. Having no sight, he could have felt threatened and anxious, fearful the crowd might trample him. He could have been concerned he’d be unnoticed and overlooked, yet again. Instead, he focused on what he could see with his heart rather than what he was unable to see with his eyes...
I love that. The blind man threw aside anything that might hinder his running, jumped up all on his own and blindly ran to Jesus. He ran solely ahead by faith, not by sight — unafraid of falling or bumping into things, nor fearing what might be ahead of him, simply because He heard Jesus’ voice and knew He was there.
We can always choose to follow Jesus’ voice, rather than let our blindness keep us paralyzed in anxiousness and pessimism. Just like the blind man, when we choose to follow Jesus’ voice instead of our eyes, our faith can be life-changing, helping us discover peace and blessing." - Tracie Miles, Proverbs 31 ministries
WOW! In this up and down journey, once again the God of this entire universe cares enough that He spoke to me in that still, small voice of His. Then He sent me an email -
😃 - and when I didn't read that, He sent me a message to remind me that I can choose whether to trust or rest, I can be stressed or be peaceful. I have the freedom to set the tone for how I "see" this season and the year ahead.
Thank you, God, for your patience with me. Thank you for giving us the gift of your Son, and for the assurance that you are with us today, tomorrow, and for eternity!!
Merry Christmas!!
