Reflecting On The Last Year
It has been a year since I was diagnosed with pneumonia and that’s made me think back on all that’s happened since. After the initial diagnosis it took a couple weeks before I wound up in the hospital where I stayed for 11 days and had multiple procedures that ended with some major chest surgery to get rid of the infection. Some time afterward one of my doctors used the term “near death experience” referring to the condition I was in before surgery. So this holiday weekend has been a good time to reflect on the experience and what it meant to me then and now.
Let’s just say that I’m glad to be alive. Every day is a wonderful opportunity to serve our Lord more. But more than that the experience taught me another lesson in patience and it has provided many opportunities to offer up some pain and suffering.
I remember hearing a number of family and friends say that maybe it meant I should “slow down” and not travel so much for work. I wondered about that and prayed for guidance on the issue. I don’t think it has been that simple. I’ve done quite a bit of travel since then but have had more periods of no required travel. One reason is that we lost a significant amount of work that required travel from one of our clients. That has meant more stay at home time but also more pressure on our cash flow. It seems like there’s always something.
I’ve found myself working harder to live a healthy lifestyle but now that I’m mostly back to normal I’m back to battling the same old temptations to eat too much and not exercise enough. Realizing that I’ve hit this one year milestone has made me re-commit to my resolutions though. It has made me think about how blessed I am to have a wonderful faith and family. My wife just had some major surgery of her own recently and now I can pay her back for her extra efforts when I wasn’t able to do much around the house!
So there you have it. A year since I didn’t think I would be here at all. But thank you Lord for allowing me more time to make amends for my sins and serve you more.