Dear Friends,
I am getting stronger every day, and will be back to work Monday, March 7, when I'll also begin radiation therapy M-F for 6 or 7 weeks. I've had some time to reflect on the past month and thought I'd share a few lessons that I've leaned during this time:
1. God's mercies come in many sizes, are perfectly timed, and often are delivered through other people. Some of the time the people who are the mediums through which a blessing is delivered are not aware of the magnitude of the blessing they are providing to someone. They are just following the impulse of the Spirit, and then sail on; unaware of the goodness they leave in their wake. Lesson I learned: May I be the kind of person who can be used by God to pass along mercies of any size to others. I don't want to miss out on being the deliverer of a "small" blessing, by being intent on delivering only "big" ones.
2. Some things that seem bad are actually good things in disguise, and some things that seem good are actually bad things in disguise. God will help us see through the disguise and treat these things as they deserve. Lesson I learned: May I hold on lightly to both the good things and the bad things. We will eventually lose our grip on good worldly things and bad worldly things, so I want to keep a light grip on them, never holding good things too dear, or obsessing about how bad the bad things are (and may I remember bad things may turn out to be good things after all). Rather, as Moses says repeatedly in Deuteronomy, I want to "hold fast" to God; cling to Him (see particularly Psalm 73:23-26). He has promised that He will never let go of us. Also, I will hold fast to my love relationships with other believers. God and others are the only things that we can hold onto in this life that will be able to be held in the next.
3. Prayer makes a difference. I don't understand exactly how it all works, but I can testify that God was able to, for lack of a better way to say it, do more because of your prayers for me than He would have in the absence of those prayers. Lesson I learned: I want to be constantly praying for others as they have for me.
4. Friends brighten dark places. Your cards, emails, provisions, and numerous acts of kindness have kept darkness in the corners and brightened my path every day. Lesson I learned: If I can be as good a friend to you as you have been to me I will have accomplished no small thing.
5. God has blessed me beyond all comprehension when I married Jan. Lesson I learned: May I never forget it, and always show her I know it!
