Saturday, February 25, 2017

Set free from the tyranny of being fine.

Now, as a bloke I don't like to use the word 'fragile' about anything that involves me. Men are supposed to be 'fine mate' or 'yeah, great thanks' when responding to any greeting. But I am gradually being set free from the tyranny of having to be fine all the time.  In fact, during the last couple of weeks things have been mostly decidedly down and pretty painful really.

I won't bore you with the details but simply say that this week I have found real help in the ancient hymnbook of the Jewish people - the book of Psalms. I am not going to add much to it, but just set out some of Psalm 6 for you here.  Read it as a kind of prayer and insert your own unique 'enemy' or challenges into the dotted line.

Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak. Heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.  I am sick at heart. How long, O LORD, until you restore me?  Return, O LORD, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love.  I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears. My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of ..............(your own issues)all my enemies. Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer. May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified. May they suddenly turn back in shame. (New Living Trans.)

You get the drift?  So if, like me, you just don't know what to say when someone asks how you are, and you can't say 'fine' but know that they don't really want a blow by blow account of your day/week, why not admit 'fragile'and hold on to the Book of Psalms like a life-line.

Monday, February 13, 2017

4 Keys to Waiting Well.

I think I am discovering the reason why people waiting for medical care in this country are called 'patients' - it's because patience is the one asset we are going to need again and again! I am on a long pathway of care that has kept me waiting for major surgery for many months now and shows no sign of coming to an end soon. This time last year I received the welcome news that full funding for this surgery has been approved by my local health authority. Getting to that point alone seemed like a miracle, but not one that happened quickly. I am grateful for the faithful support of family and praying friends who have not given up on me yet, and who encourage me to 'hang in there' when the waiting seems to be overpowering me. Here are some of the helpful tips I have received and I hope they may assist you if you are waiting for a longtime for your prayers to be answered:
1. Occupy your mind as much as you can. This is diversion therapy and can really help us if we engage with it. The Bible says of the final return of Christ that his people should 'occupy themselves until he comes'.. another of those bits of wisdom that we thought were new but prove to be centuries old in God's Word.
2. Believe that you are Special and not Forgotten. I find the hardest part of waiting can be the fear that those who may be responsible for our care have forgotten us.We may have good grounds for thinking like this when we see in the media about people abandoned on trolleys and even left in linen cupboards by over-stressed health-care workers. But God has not forgotten us.  He has engraved (or tattooed) our names on the palms of his hands.  In fact, in the Bible God says that even if our father and mother forget us - he will never let us go.
3. Avoid Negative Stuff like the plague! I know that I have to guard my intake, especially of media, books, magazines etc that feed my fears and not my faith. I am having to turn off the TV much more than I used to.  Don't be lured into watching nihilistic, negative and nasty programming like much of the soaps and even some documentaries. Choose your intake wisely and make room for the promises of God. You may even have to be choosy about the people you hang out with.
4. Remember that God's in charge - not the devil nor the doctors, and certainly not me! When we place our hands in the hand of the one who stilled the storms on Lake Galilee we can trust in his love for us. There is not one tiny jot of abusive intent in his love. He will see us through, in his time not ours.