Quote from "Stepping Heavenward" by Mrs. E. Prentiss

"She says I shall now have one mouth more to fill and two feet the more to shoe, more disturbed nights, more laborious days, and less leisure or visiting, reading, music and drawing.

Well! This is one side of the story, to be sure, but I look at the other.

Here is a sweet, fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God; and the body in which dwells is worthy of all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in Christ's name, I make a willing sacrifice of what little leisure for my own recreation my other dear darlings had left me. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, to her lifelong prayers! Oh, how rich I am, how truly, wondrously blest!"

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Exciting New Adventure

I awoke this morning with a sense of excitement.   I realized I have been sent on a mission field.   I am to give the Hope of Jesus where the fear of death is commonplace.  Last year I had no doctors.   Heck, last month I had no doctor.   Today I have 4, a gynecologist, a gastroenterologist, an oncologist, and a surgeon.  That's four new offices with lots of nurses.   I will be going 5 days a week for 8 weeks to chemo/radiation treatments and will have opportunities to speak to lots of people.   As a busy home schooling Mom of 8, I thought my big mission trips would come when the children are grown.  I could become a Betty Fountain, an older saint at our last church, who spent her last years going back to forth to Honduras ministering to others.   While they were in high school, my oldest daughter went to Honduras and my oldest son went to Brazil.  I hope each of my children get a taste of mission work before they leave home that spurs a lifetime interest of investment.   It's why we spent years of Tuesday mornings at our church's food pantry ministry.  I want our family to have a lifestyle of ministering to others.  But in the here and now, I was too busy in my family ministry to invest much time elsewhere.  

I will still be excited if God does a great miracle of healing in my body.  However, I sense a greater purpose in this trial than God being glorified in my healing right away.  Perhaps this time, it will be God glorified in my suffering.  I remember Pastor Wade sharing this as one of his life verses:  "I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:8-11  I always thought phew, not for me.   I do count everything loss for the excellence of knowing Christ BUT do not sign me up for that suffering part.  No thank you!

But now, I'm super excited about the opportunities before me.   (Remind me that when I'm sick and losing hair.)  So watch out Satan, what you meant for evil, God meant for good.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Michelle, have you heard of the movie called The Gerson Miracle? You can get it through NetFlix. Last year we thought I had cancer and I researched all manner of treatments. I sort of began a modified version of it at home while I waited for surgery and results.. Anyway, turned out biopsies were all fine, but I was really going to pursue this method if it did come back as cancer. I have kept a lot of the dietary changes since then...I'm no health nut, but I have felt wonderful with the juicing and etc. Anyway, thought I'd throw that out there for you to look at. I am praying for you and for your family.

Michelle said...

I actually watched about the Gerson diet last year also. I am already juicing and that has definitely helped with my energy level. Thanks!

My Favorites

Quote from Jim Elliott

He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. (His thoughts on Luke 16:9)

music


MusicPlaylistView Profile
Create a playlist at MixPod.com