Update:
Ryan C. and I got out to Mouldy’s on Friday and they were able to
adjust my sight so that I can shoot my right-handed bow with my left eye. We had to remount the sight on inside of the
riser, so I have some fine tuning to do for the various distances, but my shot
groups at 10 and 20 yards were tight.
Yes! Now that I can see both my
sight pin and the target clearly, it was fun to shoot the bow again. I am speaking at a men’s archery retreat this
coming Saturday and I wanted to be able to shoot my bow—so it is perfect
timing. One of the things that I discovered
is that my left eye has become dominate.
Prior to my vision problems a year ago, I was right-eye dominate. Being left-eye dominate will help me as I
learn to shoot my bow and my gun with my left eye.
Usually, it takes about 2 to 2½ hours at the doctor’s office to have my eye
injection. This time there was hardly
anybody else waiting in line, so it ended up taking less than an hour. I went home and slept the rest of Friday
afternoon and evening during the worst of the discomfort. Saturday by noon I could see fairly well with
both eyes. I did miss an event that I
really wanted to attend; but by late Saturday afternoon I was feeling pretty
good.
Getting up and getting ready in time for the 6 a.m. Sunrise Easter was
a bit difficult. I got up at 4:30 a.m.
thinking I had plenty of time and ended up getting to church with only a few
minutes to spare. Fortunately, I had
everything prepared for the service beforehand.
On Friday at Mouldy’s I saw Brian, a double-amputee. We talked about the changes in our lives and
the progress that we have made. Brian
mentioned that one of the things that his friends still don’t understand is
that he cannot be ready to go anywhere at the spur of the moment. It takes him at least an hour to get ready to
go anywhere. It doesn’t take me as
long—but I can’t just jump into the truck and go (unless I already happen to be
ready). Don’t be disappointed if a
disabled friend (or a friend recovering from illness) isn’t spontaneous
anymore. Build extra time into the
schedule and try to plan ahead so that they can be included in the fun.
After Sunday lunch with the family, I ended up visiting with one of my
firefighters in Altoona, went shopping at Gander Mountain (where I found a
t-shirt to imprint on my leg), visited with one of my police officers in Fall
Creek, chatted with a church member working out in his yard and then spent the
evening with my wife. It was a pleasant
way to spend the afternoon.
Monday morning I have to turn my prosthetic leg into the lab. They are going to make my first “permanent”
leg this week and then need my current leg to use as the basis of my new
one. Since I received my “test socket” (my
current leg) we’ve reshaped some places, added cushion or pads in other places,
and made numerous adjustments. My
prosthetist said that I am ready to have my first permanent socket made. My test socket was made of plastic and
fiberglass wrap. My first permanent
socket will be made of acrylics. It will
be stronger and lighter weight. This leg
will only last 6-12 months because my leg muscles will atrophy during this
time. What I call my “second permanent”
leg that gets made for me after that should last about three years—it will be
made of carbon fibers and be even stronger and more durable. So for the next five days I will be without
a prosthesis and back full-time in my wheelchair. I am not really looking forward to that. I have the loss of mobility and I have to
work at keeping certain muscles and tendons limber despite just sitting all the
time. But that is the price of
progress! By Friday I’ll have my new leg
and be up and walking again. Yeah!
I did finally find a T-shirt design that I’ll have imprinted upon the
leg. Think of tattoos on a prosthetic
limb. I really wanted a scripture verse,
but couldn’t find what I wanted on a T-shirt in the limited time I had. So instead I have an American flag with a
whitetail deer silhouetted on it. I
think it will look good!
This evening (Monday) all the kids and their spouses are gathering at
my house for an Easter gathering. This
is the first time all of us will have been together since Christmas. I am looking forward to spending the
afternoon and evening with them.
Thought for the Day:
How is your prayer
life? Do you spend much time in
prayer? Do you feel like God listens to
you and answers your prayers? Most
people struggle with feeling like their prayers are worthwhile. Often times we just don’t know the words to
say or how to put our thoughts and feelings into words.
Most of us make prayer out
to be harder than it really is. Prayer
isn’t about using the right words or phrases.
It is talking to God. It is
expressing our thoughts, our feelings, our desires, and our requests.
Think about listening to
your children when they are younger. Did
they have to use perfect English and use correct grammar to communicate with
you? No!
In fact if they did, it would be a little freaky. Good old common everyday language is plenty
fine. It is the same way with God. You don’t need flowery language or the exact
right words for God to hear you and understand you.
I know in my own life that
there are times when I don’t have the words to say what I am feeling. That’s okay too because God understands our
emotions and what we need without us putting it into words.
Here is the really cool
part. Did you know that both God the Son
and God the Holy Spirit are praying for us?
How can it go wrong for us if God Himself is praying on our behalf? The Son and the Spirit have to know how to
pray—so even if our prayers don’t seem very good; their prayers have it
covered!
Romans 8:34 “Christ Jesus is He who died, yes,
rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for
us.”
Hebrews 7:25 “Hence, also, He is able to save
forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make
intercession for them.”
Romans 8:26 “And in the same way the Spirit
also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the
Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;”
There is so much more that
could be said about prayer—but the important thing for us to remember is that
our prayers are being heard, so pray in confidence.
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