Update:
Don’t forget that all my updates and thoughts can be found on my blog
site: stevenhurd.blogspot.com My
site is entitled: One Foot Forward. I am still adding content like pictures
and links, but the updates and thoughts are all there. If there is someone that you know who would
be interested, feel free to pass my blog address along to them.
Our Hurd family Christmas gathering on Saturday was very
enjoyable. All the children and their
significant others were able to be there for the meal and gift exchange. Ruth and Jon spent much of the day in the
kitchen preparing the meal. It always
amazes me how long it takes to prepare for a meal and how long it takes to
clean up compared to the few short minutes of actually eating the food. In years past, my contribution was usually
putting away the food after the meal, clearing the table, rinsing the dishes
and starting the first load in the dishwasher.
It felt strange not being able to do that this year. Although before the meal I was able to scrub
the inside of the oven door. It had
gotten gunky and was burning off when other things baked. So I made that contribution. Good thing the rest of the oven wasn’t dirty,
I wouldn’t have been able to reach that in the wheelchair. For Christmas, the kids got me a shower phone
to replace the old shower head. Now I
can direct the water flow where I want while sitting on my shower stool. It feels so good to shower and not do a
sponge bath.
I have one more week until I return to the surgeon to get my remaining
staples removed. He said at that time,
we would set up physical therapy to begin preparing my stump for a prosthesis. I can hardly wait. I feel like a little kid waiting for
Christmas! I am much more comfortable
and confident as I move about. I
continually try new things to see what I can accomplish on my own. Many things are still “out of reach” but I
enjoy doing for myself whatever that I can.
I have been sitting so much that I enjoy just standing up for few
minutes while hanging onto the walker for balance. I can’t wait to be more mobile again. I hope that I don’t have to wear the leg
brace for much longer while I sleep (I don’t know when or even if I won’t have
to yet). I look forward to sleeping on
my left side again. That will be
wonderful!
Up to this point, my wife has been checking my blood sugar levels and
then giving me insulin as needed. Yesterday,
I started doing it myself. Now I can’t
complain too much if I don’t hold steady and I feel the needle prick. Along with everything else, I’ve tried to be
wise slowing adding things back into my life, without pushing too hard and too
fast. I think if I had to do it all myself
right after getting out of the hospital, it would have been too much. As it is, I am ready and it feels right. Having some control and not always passively
receiving someone else’s care feels good.
Next Sunday, I will lead the worship service. It is Communion Sunday, so I’ll have to
figure out exactly how that will work with my wheelchair; handing out trays,
etc. I will also be speaking but since
it is a Communion Sunday, it will be a shorter devotional; that will make
preparation easier. This week I will
work from home and not try to go to the office, but it will be a first step
back towards working full-time again.
Just actually going to my office at the church would take a lot out of
me, so I’ll save that energy output and use it towards actually getting some
work done.
Thought for the Day:
Here is a famous quote attributed
to Blaise Pascal, a seventeenth-century mathematician, scientist, and Christian
philosopher: “There is a God shaped
vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing,
but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” Researchers have determined that Pascal didn’t
actually say that, although he said something close: “…because the infinite
abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say,
only by God Himself.” Pascal was discussing
the tendency of people to seek for happiness and contentment in all sorts of
places.
Back in the 1600’s and now,
people search for something that will make them happy. Some of the more traditional choices have
always been power, wealth, fame, achievement, or relationships. Today we add in distractions such as entertainment,
material possessions, and technology. We
aren’t happy—let’s go shopping! We aren’t
fulfilled—let’s earn another degree! We
are kind of blue—let’s make more money!
We are discouraged—let’s eat chocolate and sweets! We are frustrated with past relationships—let’s
find the “right” person and we’ll be satisfied and happy. Nothing makes me
happy—let’s go to the movies and forget about it for a while.
The problem with all these
attempts to gain contentment is that they are at best temporary solutions. “Retail therapy” can run up the credit card
debt very high and the “high” that you feel fades within a day or so and then
it is off to the store to buy more. The
bottom line is that none of these things will actually accomplish what we are
really longing for. We’ll never be truly
satisfied by them. Someone has quipped, “Money
can’t buy happiness. But it can buy things,
which is almost happiness.” That is until
it breaks, wears out, or becomes outdated. Randy Alcorn in his book, Seeing the
Unseen: A Daily Dose of Eternal Perspective, says this, “if I buy into the
lie that happiness can be found in wealth, beauty, fame, or any number of
endless pursuits besides Christ, I’m doomed to unhappiness because I am
pursuing the wrong things.”
The sad part is that our human experience
demonstrates that this is true but we still keep trying to get a different
result with the same solution over and over again. Alcorn further says that “We don’t make
choices based upon what WILL bring us happiness, but on what we THINK will
bring us happiness (no matter how wrong we might be).”
On a personal level, I realize
that it is a fantasy for me to believe I would be happy and content if I “only
had two legs and could walk again.” That
would be awesome, but it would not bring me lasting happiness. I remember when I had both feet and it wasn’t
a Utopian experience! I found other
things to be unhappy about and I could come up with all sorts of things that “if
only this was true” or “if only I had that” I felt that I would be happy.
My problem is trying to fill that
infinite abyss with finite things. It is
like believing that we can plug a black hole in space if we only had a big
enough cork. It just won’t work! The ONLY thing that will fill that longing
emptiness in my life is God Himself.
Only as I pursue and continue to develop my relationship with Him will I
ever become satisfied.
So how do you attempt to fill
that longing, emptiness in your life?
Historically, how has that worked out for you? Take time to honestly evaluate your life and
your contentment and the solutions you’ve tried.
There is something deep within us
that seems to make us turn away from seeking God as a solution to the emptiness
inside of us. Maybe that is pride or
rebellion; whatever the cause—don’t discount the only reasonable cure for what
ails you.
Take time to be with God in
prayer and reading of the bible. I know
each of us is busy, but we always find time to do what we believe to be is
important. Shouldn’t pursuing true
happiness and contentment be high up in your priorities? So turn off the TV, say “No” to some of your
activities and make time for God in your life.
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