“My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.”
–Psalms 63:8
Years ago, I found myself sick. I went to countless doctors, but everyone was at a loss as to what was really wrong with me. After much prayer, I was directed to a place that helped me understand the interstitial lung disease that was trying to destroy me, and I began the slow, arduous task of putting into remission what years of my own aiding and abetting had done.
I have been blessed to live many more years than the doctors gave me, and often when I go for my regular checkups, they don’t understand how I am able to live with something that’s supposed to be terminal. In fact, last year I was stricken with Covid-19 and acquired covid pneumonia, and the nurse who looked at my chart before entering the room came in expecting to see someone with little time to live. Instead, she found me sitting up, waiting for information about when I could go home.
Sometimes, the life of faith I live is hard. I look at my diagnosis and think it’s impossible for me to keep going, but every morning I awake with new mercies. So, when the stresses of life overwhelm me and I want to turn to something to comfort me other than God, I remind myself of the decision I made to put my life in His hands, and how that one decision has allowed me to travel a long and winding road—much farther than any man said I would go.
Some days I cry and want to go back to the things that are familiar, that feel good, and that bring immediate comfort. However, I remind myself that those were the things that led to death and the very way of life from which He delivered me. As you make decisions about what direction you want your life to go, may you put your life in the only hands that can sustain it, and bring to it an abundance that you never imagined would be possible.