A precious member of the Hospital Ministry of Calvary Chapel Surprise came by to visit me and Barb, and what a blessing it was. Let me first share with you what he quoted to us:
"The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou doest prepare a table before me and mine enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER! (emphasis added).
Now what I would like to do is go through passage of scripture in red ink and tell you how it spoke to me, please.
"The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want. As I have looked back over my life, God has surely granted me more than I could have ever wanted in life. I live with the most precious "Caregiver" in the Universe, namely Barb (she also goes by Mom, Barbie and Grammy). I have also, been blessed with 3 of the most adorable children that God could have ever chosen for my temperment, lifestyle and life ideas. Boastfully speaking, I know with assurance that these three children of mine look at me as a "Hero". Not because of my unwavering decisions in life or my extra unusual success in the business world, but rather because they have always gleaned a level of Spirituality from me, that not of my own but from the giver of life, Himself. The only thing I KNOW I did right with my kids was to introduce them to Christ. He took over from there. He makes me lie down in green pastures, (He has given me mental rest like no other). He leads me beside quiet waters. (He has granted me peace like no other). He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. (He has been my morning wake-up call and evening bedtime chat for multiplied years now and He's got a lot to say). Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou doest prepare a table before me and mine enemies; (He knew before I was even conceived that I would walk this particular trial and used a lot of years preparing my heart to deal with it. I am proud that He wanted me as a "tool" in the middle of these trials. I have learned that it is better to mention Jesus to someone than to have them pay you a weekly income until you retire. (BTW, I've been fired for that...Praise God. He knew that a little old lady would be frightened to death in a desperate situation, not unlike mine and decided that I would be the one to sit next to her when the prompt came to share (her name is Sandy and she now walks with God). He has (and this has been a rough one) taught me over the years to pray for those who mean me harm. Over the last 35 years, He has been molding and shaping my heart, for His Glory. Thou hast anointed my head with oil; (Last night, Sunday, was only the second time in my 59 years of life that someone has put his hands on me in prayer and anointed me with oil. And freaky or not, I had a very warm and fuzzy feeling all night long. My cup overflows. (The love and compassion in my heart has grown 1000 fold over the years and I see "tears" in my saucer these days). Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, No matter what the home, life, or health situation looks like on the outside, I am 'blessed of ALL men' in my life) and I will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER! (emphasis added). (and to top the whole thing off, I have a home in glory that will surpass anything the nails could build down here)
Now I was privileged to meet this man for the first time in my life, last night as he came into my home to share the love and faith of Christ with a "troubled physical body" and today he has already called back to check on me after my first day of chemo to see how I was doing. Sometimes we open our doors and allow "ANGELS" to come in and dine with us and we don't even know it.
Well God has given me over 5 years since the original diagnosis and I am happy with that, but wanna know what I think? My faith in God tells me that I can beat this one too. Now don't think if I say that being with Jesus in Paradise is a "cop-out" for "beating this one too because it''s not. My doc told me I could get another couple years of remission from this new cancer with this treatment and it was God who was the deciding factor. BTW, I know it was just the first treatment today, however, I feel fine.
Ain't God Great?
Dave
