July 13 2018 – Click here to listen
Wednesday, I went to a leading eye specialist for macular degeneration. It is a serious eye condition that can lead to blindness and unfortunately, I’ve been diagnosed with it. At the moment there is no cure for it, although taking special vitamins can in some cases stave it off. I also have cataracts in both eyes. My vision has significantly deteriorated in the last couple of months and today I go back to the eye clinic to see an eye surgeon who will remove my cataracts in the hopes that it will improve my vision. The doctor told me it is impossible to determine how much vision loss can be attributed to cataracts versus the macular degeneration. I was told that they are unsure how much better my vision might become even after the surgery. My vision is so bad that if it gets worse I will not be able to drive a car and my prayer is obviously for a big improvement from the surgery.
As I was having my eyes scanned the technician would give me instructions. I could hardly hear a word he said. My hearing is terrible, and I have a 90% loss in my right ear and about 70% in the left. It was very frustrating to him and to me to communicate. I’ve lost one of my hearing aids and am struggling mightily as I wait upon a replacement.
So yesterday I was hanging some photographs and was using a step ladder. As I came down from the ladder I thought I was on the lowest step but was actually two steps up. When I stepped off the higher step onto the floor I felt a sharp pain jolt deep within my back in the L5 area. I’ve been getting epidurals for this area of my back for quite some time as the disc has deteriorated due to degenerative arthritis which means bone to bone pressure that presses on the nerve. I was up all night with excruciating pain from it and can barely walk this morning.
All things considered I seem to be falling apart.
I was thinking about a church I used to attend in the Florida Keys this morning. This little church had some of the best singers and musicians in it of any church of any size that I’ve ever attended. They were awesome and put on a Christmas pageant at the high school that people from all over the keys attended. Over time different people left the church for several different reasons including some of those gifted singers and musicians and the music program suffered from their loss and has never attained its former glory.
I’ve seen the same thing happen with football teams, companies, governments, and friendships.
It just goes to show me that nothing on this earth stands forever including us. It is all the more reason to turn to almighty God who is the Alpha and Omega and has no beginning or end. There is no degeneration with Him; only regeneration. He did not create us to die but to live forever. We can choose to live with Him in the paradise known as heaven or live eternally separated from Him in hell.
As for me and my family, we choose the Lord. I look forward to my new glorified body and seeing Jesus smiling and welcoming me into a world of abundant eternal life. Until I join Him I will continue working for Him until my last breath
Eccl. 3:1
To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to break down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to count as lost,
a time to keep and a time to discard,
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!