Update:
Sunday morning, I gave up my preaching time so that Mel could share
about his son’s death and then coming back to life. It was a powerful testimony as he talked
about Allen being declared clinically dead at the hospital, then put on a ventilator
to preserve his organs for donation the next morning; and then him waking up the
next morning prior to the organ donation.
Instead of signing papers to okay the organ donation, his wife found him
sitting up in bed joking with nurses the next morning! That had to be a very pleasant shock!
Mel told us that one of their friends, Terri, got the initial message
of Allen’s death garbled. Instead of hearing
he was dead, she heard that he was near death.
So by Sunday evening, she ended up getting 17 co-workers to pray that “Allen
would live.” Although at that point he was already dead, God answered the
prayers of those 18 people!!! Just
simply amazing!
The handrail is up at the church so I can climb the steps on the
platform and I’ve got my new chair (bar stool with back and arms) to sit in while I preach so I am
ready to go! I’ve got a couple of
pictures of me on Sunday morning in the chair.
I went to church with only my walker so I fit back into the men’s
bathroom—I didn’t have to use the women’s bathroom to accommodate my wheelchair—It
was nice to go in the right room.
After church, my wife, Karen, and two of my children, Kate and David,
went to Stillwater, MN to attend a lovely wedding of a beautiful young woman
who had grown up in our church. I’m so
very happy for Kayleen and Justin as they begin life together.
We drove over in my truck. I fit
just fine with my leg on the driver’s side.
I found out on the way home that there is not enough room on the
passenger side for me to be comfortable for long with my prosthetic leg on. I had the seat all the way back but it wasn’t
enough. The driver’s side has an
electric adjustable seat that seems to work better for me. In the dark coming home, sitting on the
passenger side, my prosthetic foot kept getting caught under the dashboard. I felt like I was in a bear trap and wasn’t
able to move my leg to get comfortable. Weird! I was very glad to arrive home and s-t-r-e-t-c-h.
Today on Monday, I’ve got an appointment with my physiatrist (that’s
the medical rehab doctor) at lunch time.
I hope to be released from my restrictions so that I can begin using a
cane. It is obvious that I am ready to
give up the walker based upon how little I rely on it now.
My wife has heard my latest quip close to a dozen times…but you haven’t
yet, so here goes: “In the last week I’ve been barred from several all-you-can–eat
buffets in town.” Everyone always asks, “Why?” So I tell them, “Because they’ve heard that eat
like I’ve got a hollow leg.” As Fozzie Bear on the Muppets used to say
after all his jokes, “Waka! Waka! Waha!”
Thought for the Day:
“Reduce the human job description down to one phrase, and this is it:
Reflect God’s glory. As Paul wrote: ‘And
we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord,
all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect;
this is the work of the Lord who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:18 JB).” [Max Lucado, It’s Not About Me…]
Reflect God’s glory. How good of
job do you think you are doing? When
others see you, do they see God at work in your life? Do they see someone who is at peace with life
and someone with internal power to overcome obstacles? Or do they see someone who is angry and
bitter who just keeps getting beat up by life?
If you hold a mirror at just the right angle, you can bounce the light
hitting the mirror so that a person trying to look at you will be blinded by
the light and not really able to see you clearly. They can only see what the mirror is
reflecting. Our job is to keep our lives
focused upon God so that when others look at us all they see is a reflection of
God.
As with a mirror, you won’t be able to reflect the light unless you are
in the light. So you need to put
yourself in a position so that God’s glory and light shines all around
you. The best way to do that is spending
time in the presence of God through personal bible reading, reflection upon the
passage, prayer and worship, etc.
The scripture verse reminds us that we should be in the process of
being transformed more and more into the image of God whom we are to reflect. Can you discern that a spiritual metamorphosis
is occurring in your life? Are you
becoming more Christ-like as time goes by?
Remember our #1 job is to reflect God’s glory. Bask in His light and let others see His
light in your life.
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