A Bump In The Road
I have a dear friend who for many years has suffered with a chronic illness. When someone would ask her how she was doing, she would say, "I'm doing OK" and let it go at that. She never liked to discuss her illness or her symptoms because she said she did not want to be a bore. Casual friends and most people don't really want all the details anyway. Most will ask out of politeness and habit. It is a standard form of greeting. They don't really want to know, because it puts pressure on them to give a response.
If a loved one or dear friend pressed my friend for more information about her condition she would respond with "This is just a bump in the road of life." My friend was far from retirement age and lost most of her strength and had to give up many of the things she enjoyed doing. She had to quit working and lost her business. She was single and faced all this alone, except for God and the spiritual strength He gave her. She said she felt her guardian angels with her many times – seen and unseen.
I would not hear from her for long periods of time and being far away I would wonder if her condition had worsened. Then I would get a phone call from her and she would tell me about a trip she was planning, of the photographs she was taking of the wildlife around her apartment, or details about interesting ideas and people she had found on the internet.
Her body may have weakened but her spirit was strong. The Bible tells us that we are made strong in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) We don't understand our spiritual strength sometimes until we lose our physical strength. Life has to get pretty "bumpy" for most of us before we turn to God. When the road is smooth we gallop along at breakneck speed, keeping pace with the world. Then suddenly, we hit that speed bump and life takes a different turn. I know this too well. We are forced to slow down and take a good look at our life and our relationship to God. Things that were so very, very important don't look so important to us now. Life has different priorities. Never is that more true than when you have chronic illness or disability.
The world looks at the outward, physical body, but God sees the spirit and the soul. The world sees the suffering only, and not a loving God. The faithful see God at work in all conditions and circumstances. Praise God for His steadfast love to us in all our circumstances, and for His faithful promise that we will be with Him forever because of the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Lord. (John 3:16)
Submitted by an anonymous friend of GPUMC
I have a dear friend who for many years has suffered with a chronic illness. When someone would ask her how she was doing, she would say, "I'm doing OK" and let it go at that. She never liked to discuss her illness or her symptoms because she said she did not want to be a bore. Casual friends and most people don't really want all the details anyway. Most will ask out of politeness and habit. It is a standard form of greeting. They don't really want to know, because it puts pressure on them to give a response.
If a loved one or dear friend pressed my friend for more information about her condition she would respond with "This is just a bump in the road of life." My friend was far from retirement age and lost most of her strength and had to give up many of the things she enjoyed doing. She had to quit working and lost her business. She was single and faced all this alone, except for God and the spiritual strength He gave her. She said she felt her guardian angels with her many times – seen and unseen.
I would not hear from her for long periods of time and being far away I would wonder if her condition had worsened. Then I would get a phone call from her and she would tell me about a trip she was planning, of the photographs she was taking of the wildlife around her apartment, or details about interesting ideas and people she had found on the internet.
Her body may have weakened but her spirit was strong. The Bible tells us that we are made strong in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) We don't understand our spiritual strength sometimes until we lose our physical strength. Life has to get pretty "bumpy" for most of us before we turn to God. When the road is smooth we gallop along at breakneck speed, keeping pace with the world. Then suddenly, we hit that speed bump and life takes a different turn. I know this too well. We are forced to slow down and take a good look at our life and our relationship to God. Things that were so very, very important don't look so important to us now. Life has different priorities. Never is that more true than when you have chronic illness or disability.
The world looks at the outward, physical body, but God sees the spirit and the soul. The world sees the suffering only, and not a loving God. The faithful see God at work in all conditions and circumstances. Praise God for His steadfast love to us in all our circumstances, and for His faithful promise that we will be with Him forever because of the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Lord. (John 3:16)
Submitted by an anonymous friend of GPUMC
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