Hello brothers and sisters;
It's been awhile since I authored a thread. I've been doing a lot of thinking about good people who are experiencing growing health concerns but also dealing with the strain that comes with it. I do visitations at a couple of nursing facilities and especially one home for memory care of Alzheimer's / Dementia guests.
It's sad because for each one I visit they don't have the privilege of coming and going. Most are confined to their bed or facility. This is a time when I spend more time listening to my friends. Some do wish they had taken better care of themselves when they were younger and healthy. Others waited until a condition arose and they had to take sudden measures to sustain their overall health.
At times they / we ask, where is God in all this? Though I assure everyone who believe God, He is the Great Healer but it just doesn't sink in for some.
When I learned I was diagnosed as a type II diabetic I was only 33 years old at the time. At first I was stunned. I was an active athlete and loved playing sports. So I started taking pills daily, but at 56 years my type II had graduated to injecting insulin as an added medicine every night. I experienced a broken leg last October from walking upstairs and mistepping. My diabetes can affect from fully healing.
For six weeks while my leg was in a cast I asked God, why He didn't answer my prayer years ago while I was still young and heal me forever of this "silent killer?" I don't know the answer, some day He may reveal this to me.
But getting back to my friends at the facilities as well as my wife, family, Church and community, I've learned by listening to the men and women in their elderly years, wisdom and faith, that we can balance the distress of our physical conditions.
On day one we are empowered by God to adjust the areas that we find hard to change, the battle of denial, frustration or acceptance with God. We can go forward with better ways to maintain our current health situation, for example, educating ourselves by what we put into our mouths, certain exercises and how to zero in on the areas of our bodies that need our care and attention.
If we are believers in Christ, why should we quit now just because one area of our life (health) is broken? Should that be a limited condition of our relationship with the Lord? When He blesses us by waking up to new day we can always "start over" by confessing and submitting to God's sovereign will and His continued purpose and plan for our life.
We can refrain from limiting ourselves by shutting down from others who love us, and connect with them by talking, listening, praying, studying the Bible, etc...and sharing your prayer requests as well as listening to theirs.
I have heard from the ones I visited confess that when they have those thoughts of throwing in the towel, giving up and withdrawing from sharing their lowest point with God, it feels like Job when his bones ached.
Psalm 107:19-20, 19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; 20 he sent forth his word, and healed them, and delivered them from destruction. - RSV
God is faithful to the wrongdoers and hears their prayers. He does the same for the sick. Confessing our current, deepest health conditions to God, praying our deepest thoughts, reading His Word, sharing and listening to others is an encouragement, then choose God by trusting and believing He's still leading you daily in your relationship with Him. This is good medicine.
We may still have physical liabilities but we have an Awesome God who is handling that one area while bringing healing to our overall well being.
What are other's thoughts for the ones you love who have serious health conditions and how do you care for them, or for yourself?
Please share?
God bless you all and your closest loves ones.
It's been awhile since I authored a thread. I've been doing a lot of thinking about good people who are experiencing growing health concerns but also dealing with the strain that comes with it. I do visitations at a couple of nursing facilities and especially one home for memory care of Alzheimer's / Dementia guests.
It's sad because for each one I visit they don't have the privilege of coming and going. Most are confined to their bed or facility. This is a time when I spend more time listening to my friends. Some do wish they had taken better care of themselves when they were younger and healthy. Others waited until a condition arose and they had to take sudden measures to sustain their overall health.
At times they / we ask, where is God in all this? Though I assure everyone who believe God, He is the Great Healer but it just doesn't sink in for some.
When I learned I was diagnosed as a type II diabetic I was only 33 years old at the time. At first I was stunned. I was an active athlete and loved playing sports. So I started taking pills daily, but at 56 years my type II had graduated to injecting insulin as an added medicine every night. I experienced a broken leg last October from walking upstairs and mistepping. My diabetes can affect from fully healing.
For six weeks while my leg was in a cast I asked God, why He didn't answer my prayer years ago while I was still young and heal me forever of this "silent killer?" I don't know the answer, some day He may reveal this to me.
But getting back to my friends at the facilities as well as my wife, family, Church and community, I've learned by listening to the men and women in their elderly years, wisdom and faith, that we can balance the distress of our physical conditions.
On day one we are empowered by God to adjust the areas that we find hard to change, the battle of denial, frustration or acceptance with God. We can go forward with better ways to maintain our current health situation, for example, educating ourselves by what we put into our mouths, certain exercises and how to zero in on the areas of our bodies that need our care and attention.
If we are believers in Christ, why should we quit now just because one area of our life (health) is broken? Should that be a limited condition of our relationship with the Lord? When He blesses us by waking up to new day we can always "start over" by confessing and submitting to God's sovereign will and His continued purpose and plan for our life.
We can refrain from limiting ourselves by shutting down from others who love us, and connect with them by talking, listening, praying, studying the Bible, etc...and sharing your prayer requests as well as listening to theirs.
I have heard from the ones I visited confess that when they have those thoughts of throwing in the towel, giving up and withdrawing from sharing their lowest point with God, it feels like Job when his bones ached.
Psalm 107:19-20, 19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; 20 he sent forth his word, and healed them, and delivered them from destruction. - RSV
God is faithful to the wrongdoers and hears their prayers. He does the same for the sick. Confessing our current, deepest health conditions to God, praying our deepest thoughts, reading His Word, sharing and listening to others is an encouragement, then choose God by trusting and believing He's still leading you daily in your relationship with Him. This is good medicine.
We may still have physical liabilities but we have an Awesome God who is handling that one area while bringing healing to our overall well being.
What are other's thoughts for the ones you love who have serious health conditions and how do you care for them, or for yourself?
Please share?
God bless you all and your closest loves ones.
