Oops! I Did It Again!

The older I am getting, the more I have to watch what I say. Words will literally pop out of my mouth like a Jack-in-the-Box when I least expect it. I wonder “Where did that come from?” That whole “think before you speak” quote seems to often be null and void in my life. It’s too late to retract them. I said them. They are out there now and perhaps causing someone to think less of themselves AND me. Lord, please put a gate with a lock over my mouth and only open it when You know my words will be sweet and uplifting. Psalm 141:3 “Set a guard over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

I wonder. Is it because I pay too much attention to social media where the swords have come out and we wonder if they’ll ever be put back in their sheath. By this I mean the cutting statements in Facebook rants, the attack-dog tweets, the opinions launched like grenades at the other side. It’s tempting to run from it all and hide. Or to enter the battle with even bigger bombs. Go nuclear!

But I want neither. I want my “Good Ship Lollipop” days back again. My peers will remember the adorable Shirley Temple singing those lyrics: "On the Good Ship Lollipop. It's a sweet trip to a candy shop. Where bon-bons play. On the sunny beach of Peppermint Bay." Oh I know that’s “Fantasy Island” (oh me, I’m being held captive in my memories library!)

But, the reality is we tend to soak up the world’s way-of-thinking like a sponge, and, little-by-little, if we let it, we start taking on the characteristics of those we really do abhor (not the people, for goodness sake, we are people-lovers or so we say when we declare: “We love the Lord with all our hearts and we love our neighbors as we love ourselves).

We see the problems — the issues and the differing opinions, the my-way and their-way, the divides between us. And we think what will make it all better is to fix it all and fix them all. So we focus on the politics, the rancor, the public opinions, Hollywood, the other side of the aisle speakers, and then we slam the door on our way out. We type in all caps and put exclamation points at the end. But, then I hear Jesus still saying: “Love one another” (John 13:34). What if we “fixed” all the problems and looked behind us and saw a war zone scattered with the wounded and the dying? What if I fight so hard and I win, but I am the only one to survive? Is that really a victory?

When we unsheathe our swords, may we use them to fight the real enemy (which is not each other or any human). We really are on the same side. We are part of the same family. Yes, we will and sometimes must disagree. But may we be the ones who stand out. May we “be completely humble and gentle; patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2)

The enemy of our souls is after mass casualties in the Kingdom of God. He wants us to turn on each other and do his work for him. For goodness sake -- let’s not allow this to happen.

I started this blog by admitting my own desire to watch my words. The truth of the matter is our words are not dull butter knives or plastic light sabers swung in the backyard. They are real weapons. We can use them to wound. Or we can fight the darkness together. I choose the latter. I want my words to be so powerful that the enemy and his helpers run in terror when my mouth gate is unlocked and I speak words of life. You, too?

Whole Lotta Infusion Goin' On!!

Infusion -- To fill or cause to be filled with something; Injection; Instill. That's a word that we've encountered many times in the last several weeks. My Honey has had more than his share of I.V. infusions for hydration, nutrition, medication, blood transfusions, and then on Friday, August 13th, he was infused with the first targeted therapy treatment (chemo). The chemo treatment went well -- no side effects for which we are so grateful.

The next week, went quite well as I continued to give him the antibiotic via I.V. for the staph infection. We also were able to get his pain better managed as we figured out the necessary meds to bring about comfort. He grew stronger as he began physical therapy three times a week. Now we were ready for our next chemo treatment on Friday, August 20th.

All was going well until Friday morning at 5:30 a.m. when I was awakened by Ron violently shaking with chills and rigors. I quickly checked his temperature and it was over 102. We've been directed to call the medical on-call line if that happens. We were quickly urged to go to the Emergency Room as soon as possible. Fortunately, our son had come into town the night before to see us before going to Asia for nine days, so he was able to help me get Ron into the car and to the hospital, as he was very lethargic and unable to communicate. Once determining that there was another type of infection in his body, and his blood pressure being extremely low, we were moved to the intensive care unit for the next 36 hours. Today, Saturday evening, we were moved to a regular room since they've been able to get the infection under control and the blood pressure stabilized.

Another exciting ride on the roller coaster! Many keep asking me, "How do you cope with the ups and downs of your faith journey?" I'll tell you how we continue to believe we are "winning" no matter what we face. Back to how I started this blog…..with the word, "Infusion". When Ron and I first talked about this word, we looked at it two-fold: one, in the medical sense, but then we started saying….."We are also being 'infused' by God's Word as we continue to trust in the many promises of God." Psalms 119:130 says "The entrance (infusion) of Your words gives light." When we meditate on God's Word, it brings light and life. As everyone must know by now, that has been the source of our strength, as we meditate, trust in, and place our hope upon the infallible Word of God. We believe it is crucial for our success. Another verse comes to mind. It says "If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction" -- Psalm 119:92. That is so true. It has been our lifeline. It has been our strength. Yes, we have been literally squeezed during this faith journey, but that's why we want to be so filled with the Word of God that when we are squeezed -- when we are in trouble, or when we are at a loss for human understanding, or when we are faced with situations in life over which we have no control, we must be so filled with the Word of God that we pour out faith and hope and trust in the midst of the storm. That is what has been our "shelter in the time of storm".

In our church, when we are about to hear a Gospel reading (a reading from one of the four Gospels -- Matthew, Mark, Luke or John), we do the sign of the cross on our foreheads (indicating "May this Word be in my mind"), on our lips (indicating "May this Word be in my mouth") and in my heart (indicating "May the Word be in my heart"). How do we actually get those words into our minds, our mouths and our spirits? We meditate on those words 24/7 -- we read them consistently -- we've placed them on the walls of our home -- we speak them consistently over circumstances in our lives. It’s in the music that’s being played in our home. We're surrounding and saturating our lives with the Word of God. Being as intentional with believing, trusting and speaking -- taking in God's words like medicine, as much as we are taking the prescribed medications given to us by our medical team.

Tomorrow a CT scan will be done on Ron to determine the source of the infection. Whatever the outcome, we still believe that "with God all things are possible"! We are INFUSED with those words from Matthew 19:26. That scripture is in a picture frame in our bedroom. We read it daily -- it's in our mind, our mouths and in our heart!!! WE WIN!!