With excitement and anticipation I jumped on a plane last Thursday evening to Florida to visit my family and fish some with my dad. Six hours after arrival I painfully watched while many types of medical professionals frantically, yet methodically temporarily stop my father's heart in order to prevent it not to matter twenty minutes later.
We watch it in movies, we even practice it in medical school, but when it is a part of your own blood you some how feel like it's your heart to on that table fighting for its own life. My father looked like something out of the Matrix movie with all those wires and electrodes hooked to him. I thought, "If I could only trade places with him and take the pain away." I prayed, "God let me be you just for this moment and make all this go away." I had to wonder though that God could easily come down and heal my dad or he could just take him away from us up to heaven, however, either way I had to trust and obey. I also thought of the timing in which only a few hours after my arrival that all this was taking place. Could there be hidden meaning in all this? Are there positives even in the face of death? Show me God, teach me something Lord I prayed!
My thoughts went back about three months to a conversation I had with a Christian friend of mine. At lunch we talked about current events and how much faith it took in the midst of death and tough relationships. He said to me, "Maybe God is preparing you for things to come." I thought the only thing I could think of worse than a close friend dying would be my parents passing away. The bible says in Matthew 6:21 "For were your treasure is, there will be your heart be also." Now as I watch my father in that hospital room I have realized and am thankful that my treasures are not of what this world has to offer but its, "The Matters of the Heart" that are the most important. It is not my job, my car, my house or even my friends but even as painful as it is the most important thing is my heart reaching out for my dads and Jesus reaching out for ours.
I have to wonder if this is what Jesus feels like every day with us. While we lay on that hospital bed of life, sometimes frustrated, helpless, and scared, what he wants more than anything to relieve the pain away trade places and take it all away. And then I thought, he has done all of that and much more. He died on the cross for us, he has already taken the pain away. And you know, knowing he did that for me allowed all that fear and frustration to disappear.
While my father didn't die this weekend in that hospital and is on the road to recovery, this experience has helped me to realize that it's truly not about the treasures here on earth. What matters most is our trust and obedience in God Almighty. You see it is easy for us to trust and obey in the good times of life, but it's in those hospital rooms and low points when we realize where our hearts really are and that is what matters most to God.
Where is your heart this week? Does it lie with the treasures of this world or is it with the one who died for you on the cross. For it is in our weakness to where we find our biggest strengths.
Greg Ryan is a best selling author of the Changing from the INSIDE OUT series. A powerful five step plan to better your life, get healthier, and have more energy! For FREE mini Course click here! http://www.resolutions.bz
efficient cleaning crew Northbrook ..Religion is "absolute truth of life" of the physical manifested... Read More
As Christians, we know we need God in every aspect... Read More
Five verses specify that we are to live by faith.... Read More
Life is just a journey. Princess DianaWhether we are... Read More
(Channelled)The greatest gift you can give me, is to acknowledge... Read More
So I met a friend recently and we went to... Read More
Attachment... Bondage... Moha... state as we may but the meaning... Read More
I was in the bank's vault. The Brink's armored truck... Read More
In your quest for enlightenment, always ask what's in it... Read More
If you've been on a conscious spiritual journey for any... Read More
I have a long-term goal--a life-long goal really--to develop the... Read More
"They're crazy!" That's what they're saying about us. The majority... Read More
In Corrogue it is frosty.The ramp into our "acre of... Read More
Back in the days of the old law of Moses,... Read More
Does God care if I marry a gentile?Even as I... Read More
Spiritual growth is the process of inner awakening, and becoming... Read More
Spiritual health is generally an overlooked aspect of healing. However,... Read More
I was recently asked how I interpreted the Mayan and... Read More
You can think of your Animal Totems as imaginary guides... Read More
Billy Graham once said, "Being a Christian is more than... Read More
As a Coach and Psychotherapist I have found that the... Read More
It seems to me that our moment to moment relationship... Read More
Since I awoke from my three month coma in August... Read More
Our Creator is an infinitely loving and generous provider -... Read More
Existence of God: facts and figures Does God exist?If you... Read More
cleaning lady near Wilmette ..Lectio divina is a very useful and practical discipline for... Read More
ADDICTION: - There are numerous obsessions and addictions which prevent... Read More
Every month I usually sit down and write an article... Read More
IS FAITH - NOT VITAMIN C WHAT'S MISSING FROM YOUR... Read More
In Corrogue the air is chill and the frost is... Read More
Before Donna was born she took with her a dollar,... Read More
Forgiveness breaks all bounds of repression and depression. It liberates... Read More
It is no doubt that so many of you are... Read More
I have discovered as I grow older in Christ Jesus... Read More
Last Saturday, the children were down at their grandparent's house... Read More
There is nothing more valuable to a sentient being then... Read More
Are you at a crossroad in your life where you... Read More
Vanity - it's easy to mask, easy to forget, and... Read More
One thing that Jesus was NOT - was flashy. When... Read More
The gate of every year is the begining of that... Read More
Among those arriving to the stadium early were two old... Read More
1. Identify a woman who is "like minded," who has... Read More
There are many energy beings available to assist us in... Read More
There's a Native American belief that before we are born,... Read More
In looking back at my process over the years I... Read More
I have been counseling people on weight loss, exercise efficiency... Read More
In the movie "A Beautiful Mind" John Nash (played by... Read More
Lately, I have been asked a lot of questions in... Read More
Rose Ann Schwab is an internationally and world renowned professional... Read More
2 Corinthians 6:17-6:17For God so loved the world, that He... Read More
Spirituality |