Who am I that a king would bleed and die for?

These last few days have been days full of blessings and answers to prayer--long term prayers!

I have had a family prayer request answered--something for which I had prayed a very long time. Thank you Jesus!

Today was my monthly appointment with my orthopedic surgeon. It has been three months since my shoulder surgery. I know I have shared this before, but I will share it again. I have no insurance coverage of any kind for physical therapy. (As a matter of fact, I still owe $70,000 plus for my surgery. As of this writing, I have not received any bills, but I am trusting God to handle it in His way and His time.) Because of our financial situation, my doctor wrote an order for only seven weeks of PT, just once a week. Ordinarily, this kind of surgery would require 3-4 months of PT, three times a week.

Last month he was very pleased with my progress, but for some reason, I didn't seem to make the progress I felt I should have this month. And I've worked--boy, have I worked. The exercises are difficult and sometimes, still, painful.

So...I dreaded going in to see him today.

Don and I prayed and prayed that he wouldn't bawl me out or in any way be discouraging. Our prayers were answered!

His words to me were, "Three months since your surgery. You are right on schedule...right where you should be." As he did his dictation, he mentioned therapy. When he was finished, I reminded him. "I don't get therapy anymore. Remember our financial situation?" He nodded and said, "I know. That's what makes this even more impressive!" Do you know what impresses and amazes me? It's that God cares about me so much that He has stepped in and taken over where therapy left off.

As he walked out the door, I said, "I had help," as I pointed upward. His reply? "That doesn't hurt." I said, "I have had many people praying for me."

Yes, God has answered prayer. He has given me the strength to keep on keeping on when I felt like quitting. I have to work hard for recovery, but God is the one Who is healing my shoulder.

And these last few days have found me singing these words from a song I heard several years ago. "Who am I that a King would bleed and die for?"

Indeed, who am I? A sinner saved by grace. Thank you Jesus for bleeding and dying for me and caring for me in every way.

A Time of Thanksgiving

Have you noticed that blogs are going by the wayside? They seem to be replaced by face book and twitter. I figure that by the time I learn to do those things, they will start to go by the wayside too. And it's so hard to teach an old dog new tricks!

I don't blog as often as I use to. For me, it is still an effort to type for very long. Yes, the pain in my arm and shoulder continue, the exercises continue and on and on it goes. I remember that the doctor told me 4 to 6 months of recuperation. But who believed it? Or who wanted to believe it? Now I realize that it may go on even longer than that. Sigh!

Enough complaining! Thanksgiving is coming and I want to focus on all the things God has done for me. I don't want to take the every day things for granted--a roof over my head, food on my table, shoes on my feet. You know what I mean. And yet, there is so-o-o much more.

What about that home He has prepared for us? Heaven. What about knowing that whatever comes into our lives, He is always there for us? It is so comforting to know that when I go to bed at night, He is there. He is there when I wake up. He is there through the bad times and the good times, loving me as nobody else can. And yes, He loves me even when I am not so nice.

When I want to complain about a lack of sleep, I need to be reminded of our many, many soldiers who are risking their lives so that I can climb into that nice warm bed every night. They don't ever know what it is like to get a good night's sleep. When I sit down to a nice hot meal, I need to be reminded of all the people in the world who are starving. We have so much!!!

And America--the land of the free! How much longer will we have our freedom? Yes, we have many, many things for which to be thankful.

Let's not forget about our church, our family, and our friends. And at the top of our list? It should be our salvation.

When I was seven years old, I knelt beside our bathtub (yes, our bathtub) and accepted Jesus Christ as my own personal Saviour. We had just come home from revival services that night and my mother had told me to take a bath. When she came into the bathroom a few minutes later, I was sitting there and crying. She asked me, "Cindy, what's wrong?" I asked her, "If I die tonight, will I go to heaven?" She said, "I don't know. Will you?" I answered her, "No, I won't. I'm not saved." So we got on our knees, and there, by the bathtub, I asked Jesus to save me. He did! I am so thankful that Jesus loves me, this I know!!

Remember all that God has done for you this Thanksgiving.

My Son -- the Winner!!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I hate the word "retard." It is a cruel, senseless word that hurts many innocent people.

The other day I looked up Special Olympics on the computer. One of the first things I read made me very happy. Special Olympics is trying to get people to take a pledge refusing to use the "R" word. Then I scrolled down the page to other websites and one site drew my attention. I clicked on and began to read. I won't mention the website here because not only it is not worth anything, it is also very hurtful.

It was written by a young man who apparently was asked to help in Special Olympics at one time. I began to read and I thought that he was going to tell about what he had learned as a volunteer and have something positive to say. Was I ever wrong!

He made malicious statements about people who have special needs. He seemed to have a very limited vocabulary indeed as he favored one word which should be censored.

At the very end of the article, he had a picture of a runner finishing the race and winning. The caption under the picture read, "Even though he won, he's still retarded."

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. Obviously the young man who wrote this article had no life. How could he? In a way I almost felt sorry for him. He does not know the value of a person. He does not know that God made everyone and everyone has a purpose. I would like to ask him the following questions:

How many 29-year-old men do you know who have cleaned house for the last 10 weeks for his mother who had surgery?

How many 29-year-old men do you know who do the laundry every week without complaining (acually love to do it)?

How many 29-year-old men do you know who do not complain that they do not have a car to drive and are grateful for those who provide their transportation?

How many 29-year-old men do you know who will stand by their mother when she is in terrible pain and shed tears for her?

How many 29-year-old men do you know who cut the grass, take out the garbage, rake the leaves, and shovel the snow without being asked?

How many 29-year-old men attend church faithfully Sunday Morning, Sunday Evening and Wednesday Evening and pitch in and help wherever they are needed?

How many 29-year-old men do you know who love to meet and greet people as they walk into the church, making people feel welcome?

How many 29-year-old men do you know who touch other's lives in a significant way--one person at a time?

My son! That's who! He is a wonderful 29-year-old man who happens to have Down Syndrome. He has meant so much to so many people. We cannot imagine our lives without him. Whether he wins or loses a race, it makes no difference. He is our son, and he is God's creation. He is a winner!!!!

How can we possibly measure the worth of any individual? When someone writes an article such as this young man did, I can only hope that he will somehow find God.

The Body of Christ

In I Corinthians 12: 12-27, Paul writes about the body of Christ. Every believer is a member of Christ's body. Too many times we forget that is just exactly what we are--the body of Christ. As a result of being the same body, we should be building each other up.

In the past few months, as I have been daily doing my exercises for my right shoulder, the practicality of this example in the Bible became so real to me as I compared it to my own body. Most of the exercises I must do require the help of my left arm. As a result, my left arm has become sore and at times can become quite painful. I realize that there is no way for me to do the exercises for my right shoulder without the assistance of my left hand and arm. Two practical examples came to me:

1. As members of the Body of Christ, we should be quick to assist other members of that body as they need us.

2. Just as my left arm is in pain from assisting my right arm, so we should hurt for others (or have compassion) to those who are a part of the Body of Christ.

Are we assisting other members? Are we hurting for others? I hope this lessons touches someone today as it touched me.

Why have a schedule?

A very close friend of mine just called a few minutes ago. She mentioned that I had not blogged recently and she wondered if I was feeling okay.

I am recuperating from my surgery quite well. The pain has lessened and I have been able to cut back a little bit on my pain medicine. (I do need it though for my exercises.) My range of motion leaves a lot to be desired. I am working hard and gaining little by little, but have a long ways to go.

I thought I would share a few of the things we have been learning in our Wonderfully Made Moms Bible Study.

Firstly we learned that in order to get our life in order, we need to have time with the Lord every day. Without His strength, we can not make it. Secondly, we need to have a good relationship with our husband. Thirdly, we must learn how to manage our time when we have children so that we can still find a little bit of time for ourselves. If we can not find this time, we can easily become exhausted and depressed, and sometimes, physically ill.

A few years before I met my husband, I spent a few days with my brother and sister-in-law who had just had their third child. While she was in the hospital, I cared for their two daughters. I was amazed at how difficult it was to keep two little girls clean, fed and happy and still keep other necessary things done. When my sister-in-law came home, I learned a valuable lesson from her. She had her children on a strict schedule. The girls had a time to get up, a time to play, a time to go outside, a time for snacks, a time for meals, a time for a nap, a time for family activities in the evening, and a time for bedtime. According to Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time for everything.

When my first child was born, I attempted to put him on a schedule. He was colicky so this was not possible at first. But it was such a priority, that as soon as I was able to do so, he was on a schedule. And so were all my children born after him. Fortunately, my first baby was the only one who was colicky.

By putting our children on a schedule, we can also find time for our husbands and yes, believe it or not, time for ourselves. Now I know this can't work for everybody, especially for parents of some children with special needs. But too many times I've seen parents too busy doing unnecessary running around and making too many exceptions to the schedule. We need to have priorities.

I gave an assignment to the mothers in our group. I asked them to take the letters of the word SCHEDULE and, using each letter, find a word that would describe what positive things there could be for our children (and us) by putting them on a schedule. I came up with the following:

S = He has SECURITY

C = He is CHALLENGED

H = He is a HELPER

E = He is EASIER to get along with (because he knows what is expected of him)

D = He will DO more of what I ask of him

U = He will UNDERSTAND what is expected of him

L = A schedule will make LIFE easier for all of us

E = We will ENJOY him more

Can you come up with more? If so, either leave a comment or e-mail me at beyondtheclouds@sbcglobal.net I will blog your answers soon. Also, for some of you Moms who have your child(ren) on a schedule, let me know some of the positive results you see.

Sharing with Others

Recently I ran into someone I have known for several years. She is one who has gone through many, many physical trials and had some painful surgeries. She never complains and always gives God the glory for everything. She likes to be upbeat and positive all the time and she does a wonderful job of it.

When I got home, I began to think about her situation. I know some people who never seem to complain and are wonderful examples of trusting God and accepting what He allows in their lives. I have great admiration for them. But I also believe that there are times that we need to share the difficult things--the times that we are down in the valley. There are so many hurting people out there, and they need to know that others have gone through or are going through the same thing that they are facing.

This last February I was asked to speak at a workshop. It was for people who have a ministry with those who have special needs. As I was speaking, I noticed a couple sitting to my right in the second row. They had tears in their eyes. Afterwards I found out that a statement I had made had really encouraged them. I simply shared that special needs ministry was a very difficult ministry and many times it was also a slow-growing ministry. I also shared some of the obstacles and heartaches through which my husband and I had gone. Afterwards they told me how they had felt the same way and many times had felt like giving up, but that it was so encouraging to hear how someone else had gone through something so similar.

Afterwards, others thanked me and told me how they related to what I had said.

We can encourage people by sharing the hurt we are facing or have faced. It is wonderful to give our testimony to others about what God has done and is doing for and through us. But sometimes we fail to tell about the difficult things--the pain, the sorrow, the discouragement, and that oh, so alone, feeling, How about you? Think about those who have been the most encouragement to you throughout your life. Was it someone that seemingly lived a wonderful Christian life and even in times of trials and trouble always seemed to be positive? Or was it someone who was willing to share the whole truth--of being down in the valley--and how God took them up to the mountain?

Matthew

It's been a long time since I've written anything about our little grandchild, Matthew. He is the precious gift God gave our family. Our son and daughter-in-law adopted him from China last December. He was 16 months old at the time. I'll never forget the first time he came to our house. It was Christmas Eve and they had been home with him only a few days.

His new mom (our daughter-in-law) carried him into the house. He was half asleep. Because of the time change, it was difficult for him to wake up. When he did, he was very withdrawn.

At the beginning, he had attachment issues. This meant that to him everybody was the same. There was a process where his parents had to ask other people not to hold him so that he would become attached to his mommy and daddy. They were told that for him to fully attach to them would take the same amount of time that he was in the orphanage--16 months.

Well, he has been a part of the Evans family for nine months now. Has he attached to his mommy and daddy? Oh yes!! He adores his parents. To watch him and our son and daughter-in-law, it is hard to believe that he has ever been with anyone but them.

Chet and Phyllis have been so sweet about bringing me flowers since my surgery. Yesterday they stopped by to bring me more beautiful flowers. (I'm getting spoiled.) Matthew walked in with the flowers and handed them to me. It was the most special thing.

When Matthew comes to our home, he walks straight to the train table that we have for the grandchildren. He loves Thomas. When he gets tired with that, he takes someones hand and heads for the front closet where all the toys are kept. He is very much at home and very much our grandchild.

Matthew has the sweetest smile. When he smiles, the whole room lights up! Who knew adoption could be so wonderful? Thank you Heavenly Father!