Well, here we are, the last section of the book – Day 40 “Living With
Purpose.” Yes, we jumped over a number
of pages. I scanned them and did not
find any of mom’s notes or annotations.
However, on page 312 she penned these words – “God prevailed in
Charley’s life.” Her comment was in
reference to Acts 13:36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation,
he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed.” Why did
she associate me with that verse? Let me explain.
February 2004 was a milestone in my spiritual journey. Dr. Henry Blackaby would call it a spiritual
marker. Martie was in Texas with our
daughter attending a funeral. About
mid-week, I experienced pain in the bottom of my left foot. It became so uncomfortable that I could not
stand for more than a few minutes at a time.
I went to our family physician a told him I thought I had a blood
clot. He x-rayed my foot and ankle and
told me it was an injury from my Army days.
He gave me a prescription for Celebrex and sent me home.
The next day I noticed my heart was racing.
Checking the Celebrex bottle, a symptom was tachycardia – a hyper fast heartbeat. So, I stopped taking it. Fast forward to 2:00am the next morning. It was getting worse. I called Martie and
told her that I was going to the emergency room. She got in her car and headed to Alabama. At the emergency room, they treated me for a
heart attack. A nurse told me I was
hyperventilating and gave me a paper bag to breath in to. About 15 minutes
later, the doctor on duty stopped by.
(He happened to be the best cardiologist in Montgomery.) He told the
staff I did not have a heart attack but had a pulmonary embolism and changed
the treatment. (Actually, it turned out that I had two. One in each lung.)
After several days of tests and treatment, the doctor told us that I was
not improving and the only treatment option left had a very high risk. It would dissolve every clot in my body, to
include the good ones. He said if that happened I would bleed out and they
could not stop it. I asked if Martie and
I could talk about it and when would he need an answer. He answered, “Right now.” To which I replied,
“I trust the God I serve and I trust you.
Let’s do it.”
As it happened, I had just read Day 40 of the Purpose Driven Life. I told Martie that I believed Acts 13:36 was
for me. That until I had fulfilled God’s
purpose for me in my generation, I was not going anywhere. And once I have, no
one can keep me here.
That is why mom wrote “God prevailed. “She knew what had happened to me and
how God had intervened. I recall waking
up one night in the hospital when a nurse opened the door to my room to check
on me. She said “You know that you are
blessed, don’t you?” I said “yes I do.”
The whole staff on that floor knew that I had survived the
un-survivable. It was a miracle. I am
certain that many knew that it was because God prevailed.
Like Paul, I have a thorn in my side to this day. I was spared, but not completely healed. My left leg still swells every day. My lower calf is discolored because the blood
clot in my leg became scar tissue and limits the blood flow. I have partial lung capacity because of the
damage caused by the embolisms. (This is the first time that I have shared this
with anyone besides my wife. It seems to be the appropriate time.) They are
ailments that serve to remind me of my absolute dependence upon God – every
day.
Just yesterday I had the opportunity to share Acts 13:36 with a man who is
seeking the Lord, trying to find meaning in his life. (2
Corinthians 1:3-5) “the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we
ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings
of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”
Since 2004, our life has taken a turn.
We have spent most of the past 14 years serving others, and exercising
the gifts that God has granted to us. He
has shaped us for His purpose. So, what
about you? What is it that God has
purposed for you? He has one for you,
you know. It may not be like ours, but
you can bet it will be for the good of mankind and the glory of God. All you need to do is yield your life to God.
(Note: I think there will be at least one more post in this series. This has been a joy and I trust it has been a
source of encouragement to your faith as you walk in the Way.)
Note:
Taken from The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren Copyright © 2002 by Rick
Warren. Use by permission of Zondervan. www.zondervan.com
No comments:
Post a Comment