DAILY-E-VOTIONAL

BLESSINGS FROM THE HEART

Pastor Cecil A. Thompson

March 18, 2015

“THE AMPUTATION!”

Philippians 4:12-13

“I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”                     

There was blinding pain and then darkness. The accident had been so catastrophic that the doctors struggled to save the victim’s life. Hour after hour they fought against the odds and finally turned the corner. With a sigh of relief they made their way from the surgical suite.

They had saved a life and for that they rejoiced. The tragedy was that in order to save the patient's life, they were required to remove both legs just above the knees. Now it was time for the patient to become a cripple or a new creation. Regardless, things would never be the same.

In 1952 I was joined with Joyce, my precious wife, as one flesh. We were not just two people living in the same place, we were truly one. Over the next 62 years we laughed, cried, created, struggled, and served the Lord. That came to a sudden end for me on January 13, 2015. We were no longer one flesh. I had experienced an amputation from the most beautiful part of my life.

Now I face the vivid reality of the choice I must make: Either let the waves of grief cause me to become a cripple or allow the Lord to provide me with the ability to look through the tears and respond to the needs around me. I do not choose to limp through the rest of my life. As I read in Hebrews 12:1-2: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”