I've often wondered how different my life might have been if I hadn't been born with cerebral palsy. When I was younger, I sometimes felt like I was missing out on some childhood games. I missed climbing trees. I missed running and playing baseball. I missed swimming with my friends. I just felt like I was missing out on life.
I now realize I'm not missing anything because the best is yet to come!
That's the message behind Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven. He says our present lives are just a taste of what we'll experience when we get to heaven. Real life is just beginning when we cross over to the other side. He tells readers to imagine what it will be like to run beside God, laugh with God, discuss a book with God, sing and climb and swim and play catch with God.
If that's not enough to excite you, pick up a copy of this 550-page book. It will definitely make you long for heaven while living on earth.
We've all heard the old saying “You only go around once on 'this earth, so grab for whatever you can." For a lot of people, they think this present life is all there is. Alcorn's book shows us this life is just a shadow of our eternal life — a life far better and one that will never end.
He believes we will get a second chance to have our dreams fulfilled. Heaven will offer us opportunities we had wished for but never had. We will get to do things in heaven that we weren't able to do on earth.
That gives me new hope! In heaven, when I have a perfect, resurrected body, I will run, I will swim, I will play ball, and I'll get to do all of it WITH Jesus! That's exciting to me.
I could write a lot more about heaven, but I encourage you to make sure heaven will be your eternal home.
Monday, June 18, 2018
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
RSVP Required
When you think about heaven, what comes to mind? Many of us may picture ourselves floating on a white cloud and strumming a harp. Some may imagine heaven as a long continuous church service. But what is heaven really like? We really can't know for sure, but a book titled Heaven by Randy Alcorn uses the Bible to show it's not like it's portrayed in many books and popular movies.
There are many misconceptions about heaven that could be dangerous if we don't learn the truth. One of the biggest misconceptions is the belief that everyone goes to heaven when they die. That may be a comforting thought when we lose a friend or loved one, but it's really a false hope.
Matthew 7:13-14 says "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
The truth is if you don't have a relationship with Jesus and accept the gift of salvation, you'll never get to heaven. That may be a hard concept to understand. Would our loving God really send someone to hell?
Author Randy Alcorn gives a good illustration, and I'd like to share it. This is from Alcorn's book Heaven:
That may be a simple illustration, but it should make us all want to be sure our names are in the book. Even if we've been in church all our lives, we still need to make sure we have a personal relationship with Jesus. That's the only way to get to heaven.
There are many misconceptions about heaven that could be dangerous if we don't learn the truth. One of the biggest misconceptions is the belief that everyone goes to heaven when they die. That may be a comforting thought when we lose a friend or loved one, but it's really a false hope.
Matthew 7:13-14 says "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
The truth is if you don't have a relationship with Jesus and accept the gift of salvation, you'll never get to heaven. That may be a hard concept to understand. Would our loving God really send someone to hell?
Author Randy Alcorn gives a good illustration, and I'd like to share it. This is from Alcorn's book Heaven:
"Ruthanna Metzgar, a professional singer, tells a story that illustrates the importance of having our names written in the book.
Several years ago, she was asked to sing at the wedding of a very wealthy man. According to the invitation, the reception would be held on the top two floors of Seattle’s Columbia Tower, the Northwest’s tallest skyscraper. She and her husband, Roy, were excited about attending.
At the reception, waiters in tuxedos offered luscious hors d’oeuvres and exotic beverages. The bride and groom approached a beautiful glass and brass staircase that led to the top floor. Someone ceremoniously cut a satin ribbon draped across the bottom of the stairs. They announced the wedding feast was about to begin. Bride and groom ascended the stairs, followed by their guests.
At the top of the stairs, a maitre d’ with a bound book greeted the guests outside the doors. “May I have your name please?” “I am Ruthanna Metzgar and this is my husband, Roy.” He searched the M’s. “I’m not finding it. Would you spell it please?” Ruthanna spelled her name slowly. After searching the book, the maitre d’ looked up and said, “I’m sorry, but your name isn’t here.”
“There must be some mistake,” Ruthanna replied. “I’m the singer. I sang for this wedding!” The gentleman answered, “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you did. Without your name in the book you cannot attend the banquet.”
He motioned to a waiter and said, “Show these people to the service elevator, please.” The Metzgars followed the waiter past beautifully decorated tables laden with shrimp, whole smoked salmon, and magnificent carved ice sculptures. Adjacent to the banquet area, an orchestra was preparing to perform, the musicians all dressed in dazzling white tuxedos.
The waiter led Ruthanna and Roy to the service elevator, ushered them in, and pushed G for the parking garage. After locating their car and driving several miles in silence, Roy reached over and put his hand on Ruthanna’s arm. “Sweetheart, what happened?” “When the invitation arrived, I was busy,” Ruthanna replied. “I never bothered to RSVP. Besides, I was the singer. Surely I could go to the reception without returning the RSVP!”
Ruthanna started to weep — not only because she had missed the most lavish banquet she’d ever been invited to, but also because she suddenly had a small taste of what it will be like someday for people as they stand before Christ and find their names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life."
That may be a simple illustration, but it should make us all want to be sure our names are in the book. Even if we've been in church all our lives, we still need to make sure we have a personal relationship with Jesus. That's the only way to get to heaven.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
To Be A Good Democrat
I heard this on the radio this week and wanted to share it. I e-mailed the station and got a copy of it. The following is a good checklist to help me remember why I
am a Republican.
Things you have to believe to be a good Democrat
1). You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of Federal funding.
Things you have to believe to be a good Democrat
1). You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of Federal funding.
2). You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th-graders how
to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.
3). You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-bidding Americans are
more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese
and North Korean communists.
4). You have to believe that there was no art before federal funding.
5). You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical
documented changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer mom
driving SUVs.
6) You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is
natural.
7). You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.
8). You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments
create prosperity.
9). You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but activists who
have never been outside of San Francisco do.
10).You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing
something to earn it.
11). You have to believe that the military, not corrupt politicians start wars.
12). You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of
the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of
the Constitution.
13). You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.
14). You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more
important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and
Thomas Edison.
15). You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas
and set-asides are not.
16). You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice
person.
17). You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere
it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.
18). You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a
liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.
19). You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag,
transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and manger
scenes at Christmas should be illegal.
20). You have to believe that illegal Democratic Party funding by the Chinese
government is somehow in the best interest to the United States.
21).You have to believe it is freedom of speech according to the constitution
to curse God's name in public but a crime against the constitution to say God's
name in honor.
22). You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right wing
conspiracy.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Dear Pampa: 'I'm Not Cold'
The good part of living in a small town like Pampa is.... everyone knows your name.
The bad part of living in a small town like Pampa is.... everyone knows your name. I live at the Pampa Nursing Center, and I ride a mobility scooter around town. Yes, I'm the guy on the flashy red scooter with an orange safety flag. I ride to one of the nearby parks or sometimes I just sit in the parking lot near the old Hastings and watch the people passing by.
People often notice me and will stop to make sure I'm all right. Some think I've "escaped" from the nursing center and call the center to report that I'm out. Others call or text my sister and tell her I'm out and I'm not even wearing a coat! Trust me, I'm almost never cold, so I hardly ever wear a jacket.
I appreciate everyone watching out for me, and I want to assure everyone that they don't have to worry. I'm all right. I'm really a safe rider. I never text and ride. I try to keep it under the speed limit.... since the scooter only goes 6 mph. And I stay off I-40 (especially in Carson County near Groom).
Pampa drivers are also friendly. A lot of them wave as they pass me.... and most of them use more than the middle finger. You'll have to forgive me if I don't wave back. I have to keep both hands on the scooter.
Seriously, though, I do thank everyone for their concern. We have to watch out for each other. That's what makes Pampa a great place to live.
The bad part of living in a small town like Pampa is.... everyone knows your name. I live at the Pampa Nursing Center, and I ride a mobility scooter around town. Yes, I'm the guy on the flashy red scooter with an orange safety flag. I ride to one of the nearby parks or sometimes I just sit in the parking lot near the old Hastings and watch the people passing by.
People often notice me and will stop to make sure I'm all right. Some think I've "escaped" from the nursing center and call the center to report that I'm out. Others call or text my sister and tell her I'm out and I'm not even wearing a coat! Trust me, I'm almost never cold, so I hardly ever wear a jacket.
I appreciate everyone watching out for me, and I want to assure everyone that they don't have to worry. I'm all right. I'm really a safe rider. I never text and ride. I try to keep it under the speed limit.... since the scooter only goes 6 mph. And I stay off I-40 (especially in Carson County near Groom).
Pampa drivers are also friendly. A lot of them wave as they pass me.... and most of them use more than the middle finger. You'll have to forgive me if I don't wave back. I have to keep both hands on the scooter.
Seriously, though, I do thank everyone for their concern. We have to watch out for each other. That's what makes Pampa a great place to live.
Monday, January 29, 2018
Remember This....
Amarillo Globe-News columnist Jon Mark Beilue wrote an article about some of the places and things he misses in Amarillo. It's an interesting article, and it got me to thinking about things I miss in Pampa. I hope Jon Mark doesn't mind that I stole his idea to come up with this list of places and things I miss in Pampa.
Gip The Barber: Gip gave me my first haircut. Somewhere, I have a picture of me sitting on a booster seat in the barber chair while he cut my hair. I don't know Gip's actual name. I think his last name was Gipson, but everyone just called him Gip. I went to him for haircuts until I was well into my teens. I miss ol' Gip.
Gipson's: Not to be confused with Gip the barber, I miss Gipson's discount store. We could see the store from our kitchen window. It was so close that Mom would sometimes make more than one trip over there a day "just to pick up a few things." Dad said it was almost too close. I miss Gipson's.
Mr. Gatti's: I can't tell you how much pizza I gorged out on at this place in the mall. Mom would pick me up on her lunch hour, and we'd go eat the buffet at Mr. Gatti's. We put away more pizza in that hour than you could believe. I thought that was the best food ever. Oh, I miss Mr. Gatti's.
The Capri: The Capri Theatre was built in 1961 to replace the La Nora Theater which burned in 1959. The big one-screen theater in downtown is where I saw my first movie on the big screen. I thought it was such a grand experience. The theater closed in the early-1980s and was briefly turned into a video arcade called ‘The Cave’. I miss that theater.
Gattis Shoe Store: John Gattis and his wife came to Pampa in 1968 from Amarillo and he owned and operated Gattis Shoe Store until his retirement in 1984. It was a family friendly shoe store with a personal touch where they actually took time to measure your feet to make sure you're getting a good fit. Because I needed special shoes, John and his son, Gary Gattis, spent extra time to make sure the shoes would work with my braces. I miss the customer service at Gattis Shoe Store.
The Breezeway: The outdoor walkway at the old Pampa Middle School connected the main hallways with the girls' and boys' gyms. Because the school was so close to our house, I would ride my three-wheel bicycle over there and race it up and down the breezeway. It was so invigorating. This was before there was a ramp, and I had to bounce my bike up and down the steps. Such fun! The breezeway is now just a memory. The breezeway, along with the school building, was torn down a few years ago, and it's now just a vacant field. I miss that old school.
KSZN Radio: I loved listening to this country radio station because it had "live and local" DJs, while the other station in town used a satellite feed to pipe in programming from New York, L.A. or who-knows-where. I would call the KSZN listener line to request songs, enter contests or just chat with the DJ. I'd also go to all the live remotes to try to meet the DJs in person. It was a sad night in 1988 as I listened to KSZN sign off the air for the last time, and the station went silent. I still miss "Country 1340 AM - KSZN - Pampa."
Competition: If you need anything in Pampa these days, there's really only one place to go, and that's Walmart. But before the mega superstore came in and snuffed the life out of the small shops in town, we actually had different stores where you could shop around to get the best price. There was M.E. Moses, Woolsworth, Alco and the aforementioned Gipson's where you could compare and get the best deal. I miss small-town shopping.
I have to say what I miss most in Pampa is Mom and Dad. Mom was born right here in Pampa and lived here all her life. Dad came to Pampa as a small boy. grew up here and taught in the Pampa schools for nearly 30 years. They've both moved on to their heavenly home, but I have many fond memories of them and all the places they took me around this town of Pampa -- the parks where they took me to play, the restaurants where we ate together and, of course, the house on Hamilton Street where we lived. I really miss you, Mom and Dad!
I will cherish all these memories forever.
Gip The Barber: Gip gave me my first haircut. Somewhere, I have a picture of me sitting on a booster seat in the barber chair while he cut my hair. I don't know Gip's actual name. I think his last name was Gipson, but everyone just called him Gip. I went to him for haircuts until I was well into my teens. I miss ol' Gip.
Gipson's: Not to be confused with Gip the barber, I miss Gipson's discount store. We could see the store from our kitchen window. It was so close that Mom would sometimes make more than one trip over there a day "just to pick up a few things." Dad said it was almost too close. I miss Gipson's.
Mr. Gatti's: I can't tell you how much pizza I gorged out on at this place in the mall. Mom would pick me up on her lunch hour, and we'd go eat the buffet at Mr. Gatti's. We put away more pizza in that hour than you could believe. I thought that was the best food ever. Oh, I miss Mr. Gatti's.
Gattis Shoe Store: John Gattis and his wife came to Pampa in 1968 from Amarillo and he owned and operated Gattis Shoe Store until his retirement in 1984. It was a family friendly shoe store with a personal touch where they actually took time to measure your feet to make sure you're getting a good fit. Because I needed special shoes, John and his son, Gary Gattis, spent extra time to make sure the shoes would work with my braces. I miss the customer service at Gattis Shoe Store.
The Breezeway: The outdoor walkway at the old Pampa Middle School connected the main hallways with the girls' and boys' gyms. Because the school was so close to our house, I would ride my three-wheel bicycle over there and race it up and down the breezeway. It was so invigorating. This was before there was a ramp, and I had to bounce my bike up and down the steps. Such fun! The breezeway is now just a memory. The breezeway, along with the school building, was torn down a few years ago, and it's now just a vacant field. I miss that old school.
KSZN Radio: I loved listening to this country radio station because it had "live and local" DJs, while the other station in town used a satellite feed to pipe in programming from New York, L.A. or who-knows-where. I would call the KSZN listener line to request songs, enter contests or just chat with the DJ. I'd also go to all the live remotes to try to meet the DJs in person. It was a sad night in 1988 as I listened to KSZN sign off the air for the last time, and the station went silent. I still miss "Country 1340 AM - KSZN - Pampa."
Competition: If you need anything in Pampa these days, there's really only one place to go, and that's Walmart. But before the mega superstore came in and snuffed the life out of the small shops in town, we actually had different stores where you could shop around to get the best price. There was M.E. Moses, Woolsworth, Alco and the aforementioned Gipson's where you could compare and get the best deal. I miss small-town shopping.
I have to say what I miss most in Pampa is Mom and Dad. Mom was born right here in Pampa and lived here all her life. Dad came to Pampa as a small boy. grew up here and taught in the Pampa schools for nearly 30 years. They've both moved on to their heavenly home, but I have many fond memories of them and all the places they took me around this town of Pampa -- the parks where they took me to play, the restaurants where we ate together and, of course, the house on Hamilton Street where we lived. I really miss you, Mom and Dad!
I will cherish all these memories forever.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
What Happened to the Country I Love
Things are much different today. Take a look at some of the headlines in the news recently:
- NFL players 'take a knee' during the singing of the National Anthem before games.
- Protests in the streets to call for removal of Confederate statues and monuments.
- School districts vote to remove "Robert E. Lee" from the names of schools.
- Nationwide protests and violence against police officers.
- Ten Commandment monuments vandalized and removed from public buildings.
- Replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.
America is still the greatest nation on God's earth. Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet are still pieces of Americana, but how long will it be before they come under attack too?
I'm proud to be an American, and I will continue to show my patriotism! May God bless America!
Thursday, June 22, 2017
The Imponderables
There are some things I will never understand. There are some things I wasn't meant to understand. Why am I here? Why was I born with this disability? Why hasn't God healed me?
There are no easy answers. We can read and study the Bible and still never understand everything that happens in our lives or why God allows certain things to happen to us. God usually doesn't give us answers to life's difficult questions. They're called the imponderables, and we all have them.
I heard a minister on the radio say it's always God's will for us to be healed. He went so far as to say Christians should never get sick in the first place. He believes we should live a good long life — at least 100 years — and then God will just take us to heaven.
In an ideal world, that might be possible, but we live in reality. There are times in all our lives when things go wrong for reasons we may never understand.
I'm sure this minister doesn't mean to belittle those who are sick or disabled. I think he's really trying to help people when he says God never says "no" to healing and that people don't have to live with sickness and disease. But we are all touched at some level by personal tragedies, whether it's cancer, heart disease, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or a million other things that cause us to ask “Why would God let this to happen to me?"
I wrote to that minister I heard on the radio and asked if he believes God sometimes allows us to have ailments/sickness so His purposes can be accomplished. I told him I knew that God created me and that He must have a purpose for it. If he didn't have a purpose for it, why would God allow me to be born with this disability? He could've prevented it or he could heal me.
The radio minister replied to my e-mail. He said it is not God's plan for anybody to have physical imperfections. He wrote, "God created you, but there may have been some genetic flaw in the genes, or something, that caused the cerebral palsy."
I know God didn't cause me to have cerebral palsy, but it didn't take him by surprise either. Psalm 139:13 says, "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb....You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."
God knew I would be born with cerebral palsy. I believe He planned the days of my life with that in mind. If He didn't at least take it into account, wouldn't that mean His perfect plan for my life was thwarted before I was even born? It doesn't make sense to me.
That's what led me to Dr. James Dobson's book, "When God Doesn't Make Sense." Dobson says it's about keeping the faith when things don't seem to make sense. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding."
There are some things we cannot comprehend and may never understand — at least not in this life. I thought my life was over when I had to move into a nursing home when I was only 45 years old. I had lost partial use of one of my arms. What good am I when I'm stuck in this place? I wondered that many times. I couldn't type on the computer like I'm doing here. I couldn't even lift my water glass to get a drink. I felt completely helpless.
I had to learn how to literally live by faith and not by sight. I couldn't go on my feelings. I had to stretch my faith.
"What makes faith faith is that when we don’t understand what God is up to, we still trust Him," Dobson wrote in his book. "If you have to see it to believe it, it is not true faith."
I had to learn to trust God even if things didn't make sense at the time. I had to stop trying to figure things out and let God be God, knowing that while His ways may be different than ours, God is just and His timing is always perfect.
I truly believe that. I know God must have a purpose for me the way I am. Dr. Dobson used Moses as an example in this excerpt from his book:
Dobson says we must never forget that He is God. He wants us to believe and trust in Him despite the things we don’t understand. God has plans and purposes to which we are not privy. That doesn't mean that death, sickness and hardships are really positives in disguise. But it reminds us that God has promised to take these things and bring good from them. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Dobson also says we must not let go of our faith. "Don’t demand explanations. Don’t lean on your ability to understand. Don’t lose your faith. But do choose to trust Him by the exercise of the will He has placed within you," Dobson wrote.
I've concluded from all this that it's all about faith and trust. I have to have the faith that God will heal me in His timing, but I have to trust Him enough to know His plans for my life are perfect.
Dr. Dobson summed it up this way: "Accept the circumstances as they are presented to you. Expect periods of hardship to occur, and don’t be dismayed when they arrive. Lean into the pain when your time to suffer comes around, knowing that God will use the difficulty for His purposes — and, indeed, for our own good."
There are no easy answers. We can read and study the Bible and still never understand everything that happens in our lives or why God allows certain things to happen to us. God usually doesn't give us answers to life's difficult questions. They're called the imponderables, and we all have them.
I heard a minister on the radio say it's always God's will for us to be healed. He went so far as to say Christians should never get sick in the first place. He believes we should live a good long life — at least 100 years — and then God will just take us to heaven.
In an ideal world, that might be possible, but we live in reality. There are times in all our lives when things go wrong for reasons we may never understand.
I'm sure this minister doesn't mean to belittle those who are sick or disabled. I think he's really trying to help people when he says God never says "no" to healing and that people don't have to live with sickness and disease. But we are all touched at some level by personal tragedies, whether it's cancer, heart disease, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or a million other things that cause us to ask “Why would God let this to happen to me?"
I wrote to that minister I heard on the radio and asked if he believes God sometimes allows us to have ailments/sickness so His purposes can be accomplished. I told him I knew that God created me and that He must have a purpose for it. If he didn't have a purpose for it, why would God allow me to be born with this disability? He could've prevented it or he could heal me.
The radio minister replied to my e-mail. He said it is not God's plan for anybody to have physical imperfections. He wrote, "God created you, but there may have been some genetic flaw in the genes, or something, that caused the cerebral palsy."
I know God didn't cause me to have cerebral palsy, but it didn't take him by surprise either. Psalm 139:13 says, "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb....You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."
God knew I would be born with cerebral palsy. I believe He planned the days of my life with that in mind. If He didn't at least take it into account, wouldn't that mean His perfect plan for my life was thwarted before I was even born? It doesn't make sense to me.
That's what led me to Dr. James Dobson's book, "When God Doesn't Make Sense." Dobson says it's about keeping the faith when things don't seem to make sense. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding."
There are some things we cannot comprehend and may never understand — at least not in this life. I thought my life was over when I had to move into a nursing home when I was only 45 years old. I had lost partial use of one of my arms. What good am I when I'm stuck in this place? I wondered that many times. I couldn't type on the computer like I'm doing here. I couldn't even lift my water glass to get a drink. I felt completely helpless.
I had to learn how to literally live by faith and not by sight. I couldn't go on my feelings. I had to stretch my faith.
"What makes faith faith is that when we don’t understand what God is up to, we still trust Him," Dobson wrote in his book. "If you have to see it to believe it, it is not true faith."
I had to learn to trust God even if things didn't make sense at the time. I had to stop trying to figure things out and let God be God, knowing that while His ways may be different than ours, God is just and His timing is always perfect.
I truly believe that. I know God must have a purpose for me the way I am. Dr. Dobson used Moses as an example in this excerpt from his book:
When God called him, Moses complained that he lacked eloquence for the task — “I am slow of speech and tongue” (Exodus 4:10) — yet the Lord did not offer to heal that infirmity.... Why wouldn’t He eliminate this troublesome speech impediment? He certainly had the power to do so..... As I’ve said before, there are times when God doesn’t make sense. We can assume that the Lord didn’t heal Moses’ “slowness of tongue” because Moses, like Paul, was learning that his strength was made perfect in weakness.I'd never thought about Moses' life that way. If God could use Moses with his affliction, He can use us with all our limitations. We just have to be willing to let Him use us with all our weaknesses.
Dobson says we must never forget that He is God. He wants us to believe and trust in Him despite the things we don’t understand. God has plans and purposes to which we are not privy. That doesn't mean that death, sickness and hardships are really positives in disguise. But it reminds us that God has promised to take these things and bring good from them. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Dobson also says we must not let go of our faith. "Don’t demand explanations. Don’t lean on your ability to understand. Don’t lose your faith. But do choose to trust Him by the exercise of the will He has placed within you," Dobson wrote.
I've concluded from all this that it's all about faith and trust. I have to have the faith that God will heal me in His timing, but I have to trust Him enough to know His plans for my life are perfect.
Dr. Dobson summed it up this way: "Accept the circumstances as they are presented to you. Expect periods of hardship to occur, and don’t be dismayed when they arrive. Lean into the pain when your time to suffer comes around, knowing that God will use the difficulty for His purposes — and, indeed, for our own good."
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