I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. Psalms 139:14
At 5 AM on Sunday, New Year’s Eve, I asked my wife, Tracy, to help me out of bed. I couldn’t get up. She got me on my feet. I took one step, and my legs collapsed, and I found myself flat on my back, and I could move my legs. I could move my arms, but I knew my chest muscles were not working as they should.
I found myself talking to God, asking Him what was going on. I was scared.
My wife called 911, and they took me to the emergency room. They ran me through a series of tests. The blood test came back, and the doctors informed me that I had the lowest level of potassium that they had ever seen in a conscious human being.
They ran a battery of tests on my heart, an MRI, and a CAT scan. A stroke was ruled out. And there was no damage to my heart. Praise God!! The doctors informed me that the heart was usually the first area to be affected.
Once they determined the course of action to get potassium back into my body, the IV was in, and potassium was flowing. I knew by tomorrow, I would be back on my feet.
As I lay, I started to think about God. I was prepared for two things: if it were my time to go, I was ready to go. Ultimately, I know this will happen, and I was prepared for it if it was His will for my life. Two, if He weren’t going to take me home, I would be walking by the next day.
“WHERE, O DEATH, IS YOUR VICTORY? WHERE, O DEATH IS YOUR STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:55-58
The first thing I took away from this week is that I want to ensure that my account with others is square. I do not want to be indebted to anyone.
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8
I have decided that in any situation where I find myself in conflict with another that I sense comes to an impasse, I will submit, whether right or wrong. My relationship with the other person will trump my prideful need to be correct.
This does not mean I will be a doormat, but the approach will differ.
If I am right, I will use this approach:
The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26
If I question myself about being right, I will use this approach:
Therefore, all who are mature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well; however let’s keep living by the same standard to which we have attained. Philippians 3:15-16
The second thing I took away from this week is I will start treating my body like the temple God wants it to be for His Spirit to live in.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, who you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
I went for a follow-up visit this week, and the physician assistant started asking questions, trying to understand why my body dumped the potassium. A couple of the questions that she asked me were shocking, for example:
Were you coming off of a drinking bender? Now, I could understand why she may have asked this question; I felt run down and started growing my beard again. But truth be told, I can’t remember the last time I had a drink; it’s been that long since I had one.
The next one blew my hair back: Were you doing heroin? The look I gave her, I’m sure, answered her question, but I confirmed it with a “no.”
But we did just come out of the holiday season, and I am sure my diet was not in line with what it should have been as a person with diabetes.
I guess the question was, what type of poison did you allow into your body that may have caused this? For a diabetic, sugar is poison. I’m sure I may have had a couple of cookies over the last couple of months, but in my mind, I think what would have made this year different than the previous decade?
This past week has been a wake-up call for me and my health. I haven’t been to the gym in months, and I allowed my diet to go sideways for too long. I haven’t been paying attention to the numbers that I should have. That has all changed this week. And I will use this post as a reminder if I see myself slipping.
The third takeaway is that I want others to know me as a Godly man.
I want to glorify God in everything I do; every word comes out of my lips, and every thought goes through my brain.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
The actual battlefield for the believer is the six inches between our ears. We have conversations in our minds about ourselves and those around us. But are we listening to what we say to ourselves?
Are we holding our conversations up to the perfect standard set forth by Jesus?
Quite frankly, the only thing that we have any sense of control over is:
- What we think
- What we allow into our minds via every voice looking for our attention, TV, radio, advertisements, social media, etc.
- What we say
- What we do with our hands and where we allow our feet to take us
Outside of that, EVERYTHING else is in God’s hands. When we spend time trying to change our circumstances by changing the world around us, we are trying to change God. And He isn’t changing. He has a plan, and He is seeing it through.
As I was being discharged, the doctor said something that shook me to the core. She said, “I’m surprised you’re alive.” If that statement doesn’t make you think about your life, I’m not sure what will.
Moving forward, my job will be to be a good steward of the time, energy, and financial resources He allows me to have.
Heavenly Father, thank You for opening my eyes. I pray that You strengthen my body and allow me to continue to serve You.
I thank You for all the wonderful people You allowed to help me past the situation I found myself in.
Thank you to the doctors, nurses, and aides who helped me through a scary time.
I pray that You give me the courage, strength, and discipline to treat my body like the temple You intended it to be.
I thank You for those who prayed over me while I was going through this.
In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!!
