Sunday April 20th
Yesterday was wonderful and difficult! kind of a snapshot of what life has been for us lately
We had to get Hannah, and Grace to LAX at 6:30 for a flight to Washington DC with their 8th grade class! so predictably I was up till the wee hours finishing my study, and when I woke up, I had a very strange experience……i did not have full use of my limbs…..now this was quite scary……for those of you that do not know i am in end stage kidney failure…..my function is around 8%, which means that i have around 92% toxins in my blood….so back to yesterday I am making my way to the shower and realizing that I do not posses the full fuction…and in the shower I start making deals with God like “Lord I HAVE to get the girls to the airport, and I HAVE to do the services this morning, so if your letting me have a stroke could you please hold it off untill after 2nd service?”…….so it starts to improve a little (and I am not sure if I am just improving or if God has taken the deal?)
So we get the girls to the airport (they arrived safely) and come home to get ready to have church
now my kidneys begin to act up ….(I have polycystic kidney disease and my left kidney is probably 10-15 pounds)…..I begin the dry-heave routine, which starts the pain…and off to church we go!
Now at service I feel absolutely horrible, by far the worst I have ever felt at church. Worship was wonderful, I had a chance to set my mind on Jesus, which was exactly what I needed, the message went well (its posted on the website if you want to check)…..and second service was pretty much the same, wonderful worship and message went well…….after service Karen, Titus, and I got lunch and headed home……..I suddenly realize…hey I feel great:)
I feel a great connection with Hebrews 12:2 ” looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”……….man what a day, I started it finishing up studying and ended it watching Expelled. and in between I had plenty of opportunities to look unto Jesus, and to endure….
oh and I also ended it thanking God for touching my body again…….. Jeff
i was going to leave you a comment right now … but i’m too busy talking trev.
Jeff…you pansy!
No seriously…you are a real example of keeping your eyes on Jesus through difficulty. Both you and Karen have challenged me in putting others first no matter what you’re going through personally.
Although you would have never chosen these trials it is obvious that the Lord is using these things to bring home in a powerful way what you’ve been teaching the folks at CCPV for almost 2 decades.
I don’t want to kiss you butt anymore than I already have but I want you to know how much I appreciate you and our friendship.
Hang in there! Just two more weeks!! Matt’s drinking his goji juice.
Glad you’re feeling better after a rough morning. I’ve been reading “Hinds Feet in High Places” about how God leads us into those places of sacrifice, suffering and pain to create in us the heart of trust and spiritual victory that He desires for us to have. It’s a blessing to see the way you and Karen trust the Lord!
Anyway…gotta go. Trev’s calling. (j/k)
Man that Trev is a busy guy:)