Sunday, January 9, 2011

Days of Pain, Days of Grace

So, these last few days have been very painful as I caught pneumonia last week and have probably never been sicker in my life; but they have made me feel very fortunate as well.  First off, I used to have to go through things like this by myself, but now, I have someone to go through them with.  I have caught myself on numerous occasions thinking how I get to go through everything, good and bad, with Hanne, which is an overwhelmingly great feeling.

Second, when I went to the hospital the other night, I was given excellent care.  They ran all kinds of tests and made sure they knew what I had, how to treat it, and that I knew what was going on.  Again, I couldn't help thinking how fortunate I am.  The reality is that the majority of the world does not have access to that kind of care and that had the kind of pneumonia that I have is left untreated, it could be fatal.  So, if I was born somewhere else in the world or didn't have health care here...well, who knows.  Kinda makes me wonder sometimes, why me?  I suppose I could speculate on that all day.  I don't know why me, but what I do know is that God does not want me to squander what he's given me.

So, I guess, at this moment, I am even more motivated to show love, grace, and mercy to others in the same way that God has shown these to me.  I am excited to take it to the streets, and rather than take what he has given me for granted, to cherish it, and give it to others...

Also, a really cool thing happened the night I got really sick (Wednesday night).  I had never felt more miserable in my life.  I was coughing up blood non-stop and couldn't sleep.  We were contemplating going to the ER that night, and in hindsight, we should have.  Anyway I couldn't stop coughing so I asked Hanne to pray for me, she did, I stopped coughing, and slept for a little bit.  I woke up a bit later and again was coughing and couldn't sleep.  Hanne prayed for me again and I fell asleep again. 

This is going to be an exciting month for Hanne and me.  We are sharing our vision and calling with a church plant this upcoming Sunday (as long as I'm feeling better) and plan on meeting with others throughout the month to share what God is calling us to do.  And, at the end of the month, we go to Portland, OR where we will be attending a conference with a missionary organization we are thinking about partnering with. 

We miss all our friends in CA!

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