Oh, Rus, how wonderful of you to post this on TC's thread!
Not fully awake, going to bed at 0130, dallying here with some friends, I read this day's Feast from The Table and thought, "Oh ! I have to put this on TC's prayer thread..:))"
A sip of coffee later, it registered it IS that thread I opened first,
before The Finest of FR, where you always post The Daily Bread...LOL
""I have touched the bottom, and it is sound.""
Four years ago TC and I had many discussions about life and its ups and downs, and we concluded we were on the same page -- no matter what the storms bring, we are "in the boat" - as were the disciples - with a Christ who transcends all adversity and brings us True Life!!
Awesome knowledge and assuredness it is.
In December 1985, a kidney biopsy revealed I had a condition that at the time carried a 'certain' prognosis of perhaps one year - and as my regular physician told my husband, "And from what I know of Margaret and see, expect to bury her in 4-5 months..."
He of course didn't count on my being a stubborn Irish-German-Scottish-English-French MARINE woman..:))
I had interrupted the nephrologist when he was giving the diagnosis to say I knew what he was going to say - he could only hold my hand while I went down the tubes - but I knew The Great Physician, and Whose Timetable it is, and rested in that - and we went directly from there to celebrate that with dinner out.
Working at a major hospital in Greensboro NC, the grapevine within 48 hours picked up on this, and everyone was 'at the ready' to support me as I 'declined' and became depressed.
The Lord had me cheerfully trekking the halls for another 9 years (already 6 there) "in their face" before I was sidelined for multiple things, to let the professionals know He was in charge of my case..:))
Three weeks before the biopsy, in a most dramatic way when the evil one tried to snuff me out while I was in the act of praising The Lord, the Holy Spirit showed me His Power!!, and about it, He asked "Did you not notice I surrounded you with people who love you?" -- and "that I had removed from you the Spirit of Fear?"
With that foundation, nothing fazes me, believing He still had things for me to do for Him!
I knew He would never revoke that promise of always being there, and was not to worry.
Two years ago I finally embarked on the final stages of what always was "progressive and irreversible," and have related all this to many friends on The Finest.
God gives me acceptance and serenity, and I know He will be with me every step of the way, giving strength if mine should waver...
This is a major reason why TC and I are good friends, sharing this kind of faith, knowing what lies ahead IS TRUE LIFE!!
In the mix is our commonlity in the Marine Corps experience, equipping us at an early age for all adversity. It serves us well at this stage, letting us march to the edge of the cliff with absolute aplomb, knowing we will not fall over the edge, but soar above it!!
We can look at our now rather flawed and unsightly "bodies" and laugh at the ploys of the evil one to deter us..:))
I in 1985 fully realized what Paul was saying when he described his imperfect body and essentially said it was just a mere 'shell' housing his soul!!
Our 'bodies' will be shed just like a snake sheds its skin and continues on...
Equipped with that, TC and I can laugh and take all the indignities in stride.
As I posted earlier to him, we march to a distant special "Drill Instructor," His cadence carrying us FORWARD in absolute faith.
TC and I have never met face to face, he in Texas, and me in South Carolina, but we have seen His Glory together; and keep marching forward, holding hands across the continent.
With you all the way, TC, and whichever of us gets There first will dangle one hand over the edge 'At The Ready' to hoist the piker up..:))
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~ LadyX
Crowds gathered each week to hear the soul-stirring sermons of Joseph Parker, the famous pastor of London's City Temple in the late 19th century. Then a crisis hit him hard. His wife died after an agonizing illness. Parker later said he would not have allowed a dog to suffer as she did. A heartbroken husband whose prayers had gone unanswered, he confessed publicly that for a week he had even denied that God existed.