Update:
I’ve been enjoying visits
and phone calls from friends. I feel
more “normal” and satisfied as I get back in the routine of life and am not
stuck on the sidelines as a mere observer as much. I’ve been working on setting up a workplace
on my “floor”. I have a file cabinet and
a place to put things now. By nature at
the office I am a “piler and not a filer” but I crave some cleanliness in my
small little kingdom. Bit by bit I am
getting more organized and that helps me feel better and less of a stranger
squatting in my own environment. I am
staking out my territory and learning how to better utilize everything within
reach. Right now I have a constant
shuffle of “no, I really don’t need this cluttering up my space” and “I need
someone to find that on the 2nd floor and bring it down for
me.” It is very strange not having
access to my old bedroom and office upstairs, the basement with the fireplace
and most of my tools in the winter, and the garage. I don’t really know how things are left after
the kids rearranged the house to set up my “suite” on the 1st
floor. When I send someone looking for
something all I can say is, “I think it used to be in this place” because I
don’t know any more. My middle son who
likes to use my tools and fixes things, teased me by saying, “Hey, I don’t have
to worry about how I leave dad’s tool anymore; he’ll never find out.”
So here I am learning to be content with what I have and not allowing
my limits to frustrate or depress me. I
will say after almost losing my life and then having my leg amputated that I
don’t fret about the little stuff too much anymore. I have also redefined what is the “little
stuff.” There are things that use to
seem so important to me that I no longer have access to and have learned to let
it go. I’m relaxed in many things, but
my family can attest that I am enough like my father that I could be very anal
about a number of truly inconsequential things.
I am working at not letting those things get to me. It can be tough to shut my mouth and let it
be. But I am working at it. I am focusing more on relationships and
spending time with people. My priorities
have shifted for the better. I am
certainly not perfect in these areas, but I’ve made progress.
So what about you? Take some
time to think about what really bothers you.
And then evaluate whether it is really worth getting all worked up
about. Don’t focus upon the mole hills
until they become mountains. Let it go. Enjoy life more. Don’t sweat the small
stuff—and in the end almost everything in life is really the small stuff.
Thought for the Day:
Lots of people have commented upon how
optimistic and hopeful I sound despite having my leg amputated. To me it is only logical to feel that
way. I no longer have any foot pain and
the doctors are expecting that I will
regain an active and varied lifestyle with few restrictions. It will take time and effort to achieve it;
but it is possible. I will always need a
wheelchair to use when my prosthesis isn’t on; and I’ll spend time every day
cleaning, maintaining the prosthesis and doing exercises, etc. But I have a desirable future to strive
towards. From what I understand, most of
my limits will be those that I choose to set upon myself. So what is there to be down and glum about?
My friend, Mel, who will remain wheelchair bound the rest of his life,
is in a different category. His life was
drastically altered this past summer. He
has regained a portion of his old life; however there are many things that he
used to enjoy that he no longer will be able to do. While changed, his life still has purpose and
meaning and there is no reason to give up or despair. He has a wife that he loves and kids and
grandkids that he enjoys watching grow.
He is a valued member of our church leadership team and teaches one of
our adult Sunday School classes. He goes
out with friends and enjoys life. He
spends much more time than me on “maintenance” and routine; and still he has
found that life is worth living.
There is another category of difficulty in life. There are those who have a terminal
illness. There is little hope for a
better life. Most all of their energy
and hope has been drained from their lives. The most they can hope for is to
survive another week or month. They may
struggle to survive until Christmas or until one of the kids graduates or gets
married. They want to witness their
children’s lives as long as possible.
Time is short and the odds are not in their favor.
When I think of the struggle for hope and a positive attitude despite
what I face, I realize that my category of illness is the easiest to
achieve. Mel’s takes a more focused
approach and constant mental maintenance to achieve. And what does a terminally ill person really
have to hope for? That would seem to be
a nearly impossible summit to conquer to me; except for the fact of the hope
that Christians have in eternal life.
The Scriptures paint a picture of a place of beauty, joyful existence,
and perfect health. God Himself will be
there and we will live for eternity in His presence. It’s called Heaven.
Every category of illness and every life filled with physical despair
and hopelessness can look forward by faith to this future promised to those who
believe in Jesus. I may not have much to
look forward to in this life; but I look forward to life in the next. My pain and discomfort my last for years or
decades on this earth; our life in heaven will last forever and forever. So in comparison, this life might be tough
but I can tough it out because of what life in the next will be like.
John 14:1-3 "Do
not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. My Father's house has plenty of room; if that
were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for
you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
So what about
you? Do the struggles and difficulties
you have in your life seem overwhelming and insurmountable? I would encourage you to compare your life to
others to discover that no matter what you are facing, it’s easy and
inconsequential to what many others face.
And ultimately, no matter how bad this life gets—hang on to the promise
of a better, longer, more pleasing life in the next. As Jesus said, “Trust in God; trust also in
Him.”
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