Labels........ They are so helpful when perusing the aisles of the grocery store. They quickly inform and categorize life for me. They weed out confusion in my baking cupboard among all the white substances found there My label maker is in my list of Top Favorite Tools to Use But then there is the actual living of life..... Ive found that a label can minimize and it can also dramatize. It can sum up things too quickly. It can withhold the big picture. It can strike fear. It can provoke prejudice Whether the label has one word or five, many assumptions and expectations flow in the wake of that label For Aaron this weeks words are plasma pheresis Those words conjure up a slew of dreaded things. Weakness, a machine he dreads, loss of appetite and mobility, long hours of being in the hospital for a 1 1/2 hour treatment each day, and a feeling of going backwards in the healing process Two words mean all of that to him What isnt included in those two words is the mystery of how it will unfold What unexpected kindnesses will enter our room? How will the strength needed to keep going, arrive this week? Could we have possibly foreseen the excitement of hearing that our friend down the hall would be granted the go-ahead to eat after more than a year of nothing by mouth? Known how the joy of it would bring strength to us too A label can have us hunkering, hating or hungering without understanding....... Refusing to hide, assume or simplify via a label is to open the doors of our day to a world of wonder. To invite His touch......to welcome it with anticipation Even as we camp in this place labeled trial we find His Presence and provision everywhere. This word that no one responds to with a voluntary raising of their hand has ushered wealth into our lives. It has broadened our reach, grown our compassion, opened our eyes, and loosened our grip. It has satisfied hunger, deepened our roots and loosed the chains It has also aged us, exhausted us, overwhelmed us, and made us cry out for mercy. We are grayer, a bit more padded and sometimes fear for our minds :) In Him we have a hope that strengthens the weakness of our humanity and obliterates the labels that would keep us from knowing the reality of Him Green pastures signify what I think I want. It houses within its letters a sense of renewal and rest. I dont see the possibilities of selfishness and discontent that may await the wandering of my heart in this place of ease. I cant see how the ties of trial bind me to His side with my eyes searching His even as He leads me past the traps set for my fickle feet I believe this label of trial will give way to thanksgiving when I see Him face to face. That which I most dreaded here resulted in what matters there ............................................................ An update: The lump in Aarons chest was an infected hematoma. A mass of inflammation and scar tissue that was infected. They cut into the rib it was attached to and found the infection inside the rib also. They cleaned out the rib and removed the hematoma. He is now fighting a fungal infection there and in his throat His bowel scope returned positive results. So thankful!!! His transplanted organs seem to all be doing well, our battle now is with reoccurring infections We send our thanks for your prayers and enclose it in an envelope of love ~
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 22:49:05 +0000