My life has finally taken a bit of a breather; at least for the moment.
At the amazement of many I was able to throw two baby showers, one for Melissa on May 2nd and one for Jennie on May 9th. I didn't do it alone... but, I will take credit for coming up with this 'bright' idea. The credit for making these baby showers happen goes to Lisa and Jeralynn (along with several others). Lisa and Jeralynn went along with my idea and I didn't hear one word of discouragement from either of them. Instead they showed up and did all of the work, both before the showers and during the showers.
I now have three weeks before the babies arrive; Jennie is due on June 2nd; her baby boy weighs 7 pounds as of last week; the doctor expects her baby to arrive weighing in at about 9 – 10 pounds. I am anxious to see what he will look like (as his grandmother I'm sure he will be the most adorable, most handsome little boy born in 2009).
Then comes Melissa's baby; she is due on June 10th, her baby girl currently weighs 5lbs 9oz; the doctor expects her baby to weigh in at around 6 ½ – 7 ½ pounds (and of course she will be the most adorable little baby girl born in 2009).
I'm sure I will receive much grief about my stating that these two babies are the most beautiful that will be born in 2009 as many of my friends are also receiving the gift of new grandchildren this year. Just remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and as for me I've already determined the beauties for 2009.
It's amazing to me to see how specific doctors can be before babies are born. How much they will weigh, any developmental and health issues they might have; they can anticipate almost everything that will happen at birth.
This makes me think of how specific God was when He created each of us individually.
Psalm 139: 13-16
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
I love this scripture ... When He was creating each of us He already knew what our life would be, He already knew the path each of us would take, and He already knew the day each of us would pass into eternity (either heaven or hell).
You can count on the fact that I will let you know the minute these babies are born and will include pictures proving to you of their beauty!
So many things to give thanks for right now... this is the first time since being released from the hospital that I have been off antibiotics for more than two weeks at a time. Yes, you read that correctly, I've been on at least 15 different rounds of antibiotics since being discharged from the hospital in December; that means I'm on antibiotics almost three weeks out of every month.
We all have heard that one is not to take antibiotics unless it is absolutely necessary. I did question my doctor about this, unfortunately with this disease there is no other choice. If someone around me has the sniffles or is sneezing I will catch it and whatever it is goes straight to my lungs and an infection sets in.
For the most part I've been going back and forth between a Z-Pack ( Zithromax or Azithromycin) and Levaquin... I've not needed to be on steroids as much as I was at the beginning of the year, this has been an answer to prayer.
The real answer to prayer is that I've been off all antibiotics (& steroids) for three weeks now... that's the longest duration without any since being admitted to the hospital mid-December 2008. Praise The Lord!
I did see my lung doctor on Monday; he asked how I was doing, I responded “Great”. He said, “No you're not”, “You're doing minimally good”. He told me not to take for granted the fact that I'm feeling as good as I am right now. He reminded me that while I think I'm doing good I need to be consistent with my medication, not missing even one dose.
What he meant by doing minimally good is that I am one sneeze or cough away from going back to the hospital. I need to go thru life fully prepared for battle; wearing a face mask when I go out, doing daily breathing exercises, daily breathing treatments, sleeping with oxygen and a vaporizer, staying away from wind and smoke, and taking my medications.
When I'm feeling good I tend to not be faithful in doing treatments, taking meds, or exercising my lungs (or physical body for that matter).
Skipping and missing the things that I must do allows for gaps in my armor; thus giving germs a way to sneak in and before I know it I'm down for the count.
This is the same way it is for Christians, we need to daily put on the armor of God.
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
What does this mean... I will admit, there are days I wake up feeling pretty good. Since I'm feeling so good I want to get as much done that day as possible. So I get out of bed thinking I will talk to God (spend time in prayer) later, I need to get things done. I will read His word (the Bible) later, I need to get things done. Well later usually doesn't come on those days and I skip over spending time with my Lord all together.
When I choose to miss spending time in prayer and in reading my Bible I've missed putting on the armor of God and I've opened the door to the enemy. This effects the way I respond to others, my attitude and actions, and most importantly I miss out on being prepared to handle whatever the enemy (Satan) is going to throw my way that day.
When I prepare for battle in regards to my my health it's an ongoing event throughout the day. Taking medications morning, noon, and night; I prepare myself when I get up, throughout the day and then again at night. The evening takes as much preparation as the morning takes; I need to make sure the vaporizer has water so that there is enough moisture in there air for the entire night. I check to see if it's cool enough outside to sleep with the bedroom window open or if it's okay to sleep with just the fan on, and on occasion whether I need to sleep with the air conditioner on. Before laying down I need to turn the fan on, turn on the oxygen machine, turn on the vaporizer, take more meds, and do a breathing treatment. It's a great deal of preparation in order to protect myself during the night.
Again, it's the same way with the armor of God... if I haven't taken time to speak with my Lord before going to sleep and spend time in His word (Bible) then I haven't prepared myself for sleep. On the nights that I haven't taken these precautions the enemy works on me in my sleep. I have vivid dreams and when I wake up I'm most often very discouraged or spend the day feeling guilty about my past. The objects of these dreams are things that I've already worked thru with my Lord and have been forgiven for but when I haven't prepared myself with the armor of God before bedtime the enemy is able to get in and work overtime.
It's not always easy and often I need to make time to accomplish being prepared both physically and spiritual. One doesn't always see the benefits of being prepared... it's not like I am scoring extra points with God for spending time with Him or reading His word. And I certainly don't always feel better when taking all my meds (in fact, sometimes I feel worse). However, I am made well aware of when I have missed preparing spiritually and physically.
And lastly, 'Goodbye for now' to my friend Ken Scott... I have the assurance that I will see you again my friend. You are no longer in pain, no more oxygen tank to haul around everywhere you go, no more medication to take. There is only one thing left for you to do... that's spending eternity worshiping our Heavenly Father!
Ken was a diamond in the rough... when he was physically able, he would come to church every time the doors were open. He wasn't loud and didn't demand attention; he just showed up and quietly sat; he provided support and prayer, that you can be sure of. He had so much to offer, so much to contribute but so few had been given the opportunity of uncovering the caring, loving, kind man that Ken was, he truly was a diamond in the rough.
Ken was my COPD buddy... he was the only other person that I knew who had this horrible disease. He was there to answer every question I had whether it was thru email, on the phone, or in person. He was always asking how I was feeling and wanted to know how I was adjusting to this new normal.
When I saw him at the Good Friday service I was able to give him a great big hug and then I received a tender kiss on the check from him. He was at church again on Easter Sunday morning, he looked great and said he was feeling wonderful.
I believe it was just a day or two later that I heard that he had been taken to the hospital and it didn't look good. My friend Annette agreed to take me to see him; we marched right into ICU and were able to spend time praying with him and telling him how much he meant to us.
I had promised Ken that I would go back again and see him; but my marching into ICU turned out to not be such a good idea for me as I became ill myself.
I didn't get to keep my promise but I have the confidence of knowing that I will see my brother in Christ again.
Ken ~ Until we meet again you will forever be in my thoughts!
Diana
P.S. You never know what tomorrow will bring. Ken was feeling great one day and the very next day he was being rushed to the hospital for the last time.
Please don't put off thinking about where you will spend eternity. If you need to think about where you will spend eternity then you probably are not going to heaven. You probably don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Remember, you won't make it to heaven on works, you don't earn your way to heaven. If this is how you think you are getting to heaven then you are wrong my friends.
All you need to do is to receive God's free gift of salvation and turn from your sinful life. It really is that simple. If you decide to reject God's gift and refuse to live your life for Him and only Him then the only place you will go when your life is over is hell and hell is real.
I don't need to stop for one second and wonder where I will go when I die. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will instantly enter into the kingdom of heaven and into the presence of my Heavenly Father when my life on earth is over.
For those of you who are still questioning whether I am correct in my beliefs... think for a moment... what if I am right and you are wrong. You will know the answer to this question the very instant your life is over.
My family and friends ~ Do you know where you will spend eternity?
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