January 7, 2020 – Click here to listen
Well our country is deeply divided that is for sure. Half believe the Democrats stole the election and the other half says no. So several thousand people tried to take matters into their own hands and stop the election process and it didn’t work out as planned.
I’ve been in Miami for the past two days having tests run on my ailing back and meeting with my doctor. I took one nuclear test in which the technicians injected radioactive isotypes into my blood stream and then spent two hours taking photos of my entire body. They took photos for an hour and then three hours later took them for another hour.
So I asked the technician what they were looking for and he nonchalantly replied, “Bone cancer.”
Huh?
I thought they were looking at herniated and bulging discs in my lower back. He elaborated that much like a PET scan the isotope penetrated and was inside my bones and it would light up anywhere bone cancer existed. PET scans don’t do bone and that is why I had to go that route.
Geez, my spine doctor didn’t mention the “C” word. So I went back to the hotel and broke the news to my wife. I told her if push came to shove and they wanted me to take chemo that I would not do it. I’ve watched several friends go through that process and my wife go through it with breast cancer and I would rather live out my life as far as I could without resorting to that option. We talked about what she should do if I made an early departure.
So I thought about it and had a restless night as I planned for the worst. The first question I asked my doctor the next day was, “Do I have bone cancer?” I then told him what the technician said about the test. He frowned and he said he has told them repeatedly not to tell people that and although that test is commonly used to detect bone cancer, he uses it to check bone density and this helps him to identify more clearly the offending vertebrae that were causing me problems.
There were several areas up and down my spine and shoulders that were showing damage, but the one in particular that needs to be surgically addressed would involve fusing L4, L5, and possibly L3 together and securing them with screws, metal plates, and some metal rods on each side. Now that might sound bad, but I could have hugged the man for telling me I don’t have bone cancer. While that operation may sound a little gruesome, it sounded like a walk in the park for me compared to bone cancer.
So I’m driving back home in the Keys and one of my sons called and told me that he knew I didn’t watch the news anymore, but people were storming the capital protesting the election. When I got home, I watched a little and then had to jump on a Zoom call to offer my testimony to a men’s prayer group in Tennessee. While I was doing that my wife talked with her sister and discovered she had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and her husband had been given a heart monitor due to an irregular heartbeat.
Huh?
Where is the peace in the valley? Ironically, I had just told those men in the prayer group how my life had miraculously changed with Jesus, but that didn’t mean I was given an idyllic life of peace never to experience trials again. I’ve known tragedy, heartache, and all the normal ups and downs of life since becoming a Christian. The difference is that I now have Jesus and I know that my home is not in this world of trouble. It is in heaven and no matter what may happen I know I will spend eternity without the turmoil, unrest, uncertainty, and chaos of this place. Therein lies the peace in the valley.
Upon further examination it turned out that the breast cancer in my sister-in-law was discovered extremely early and she will be spared chemo and radiation and a simple surgery should take care of the problem. My brother in law is being monitored and there should be no life threatening problems on that front. And the election is now certified so things should simmer down now. I don’t have bone cancer and will get my back fixed with surgery later this year. Sounds good to me.
So will Biden and his radical loonies ruin our country? There is little doubt that they will try their utmost, but remember that Obama controlled both the House and the Senate and tried his utmost, and during his 8 years he did some damage, but the country survived. I have faith in God and not in men and women. I love God and believe His Holy Word. Never give up on God and know that God will never give up on you. It reminds me of the lyrics that I modified slightly, Troubles I’ve got a few, but then again too few to mention. I did it God’s way. God’s got this my friends!
Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.