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June 04, 2006
My Health...an update and lessons learned
It has been over a month since I left the hospital. Since that time the doctors have had me on a collection of meds and weekly blood draws to monitor my liver functions and other responses to those meds. It's not very reassuring when you talk to doctor and other medical professionals about what your taking and the universal response is "that's nasty stuff." The one in particular is a steroid (no I'm not lifting weights to get huge) that has a laundry list of roughly fifty different side effects it could have. Thus far I can do nothing but praise God for the minimal side effects I've had. And the doctors have said the blood work has been showing what they would expect from the meds working, so everything seems to be heading in the right direction. I have an appointment with the GI doctor on the 13th so that's the point I get to ask my questions, find out the plans for my future, and see if I actually am getting better. So I would appreciate your prayers for that time and for wisdom as Leah and I will be making decisions with the information the doctors give us. And I don't think this blog can show the immense gratitude Leah and I have for all the prayers that have been said on our behalf already. It was very encouraging and filled us with hope knowing how many were and are praying for us. Thank you again.
My sister asked me what God was teaching me through this trial a couple weeks ago. At that time the only thought I had at the time is how God will prepare us for everything he will put us through. For the six to eight weeks before I went into the hospital I was doing some very deep soul searching and seeking God on my life. From what doctors had told me in previous episodes it was my body's way of dealing with stress. I was searching my life to cast any burdens I was carrying unrightfully onto God but I wasn't finding any. Instead God was teaching me how to trust him with the future. How only he knows what happens in the next chapter of my story; he's the one that holds the results and the expectations, not me. There are certain things he has given me responsibility for, but the those are not part of my end of the deal. Understanding that truth was essential in my ability to endure the time in the hospital. There were a couple of low times , but the majority of time I was full of hope and faith that God knew what he was doing and I just needed to wait for him to show me what the plan is.
Since that time my sister asked me that question I think another lesson has come out of this trial. That being the need to make every moment count. There is a certain seriousness that comes when dealing with life-long health problems and the possibility of major surgery. I don't think I was completely coasting in my faith, but there was a certain zeal that was missing from my life before my hospital stay. The time I had in the hospital has reinvigorated me in my desire to see the kingdom of God advanced. It's easy to think about the length of this life and not make every step, every minute, every dollar spent be purposeful. I want my life to count and this world to be different when I leave it.
Posted by Jason at 09:33 PM | Comments (2)