Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10

During the advent season, many are looking forward to time shared with family and friends, however, others of us may find that this time of year has more challenges than pleasures.  Gatherings present various issues for me.  The biggest challenge is food.  I have to navigate what is available so that I eat enough without getting so sick that I can’t enjoy myself.  Clothing is another challenge as I am very sensitive to both fabrics and temperature.  What may work one day may not on another.  An additional hurdle is a heightened “flight or fight” response.  Consequently, my physical response to uncomfortable social situations and personality differences are often exacerbated.  While I will enjoy those with whom I celebrate, there are many others that I wish the celebrations would include, but will not; they will be sorely missed.  There are also uncertainties in our life making this holiday season less than carefree.  I am not alone in any of this as I recognize that many will find it difficult to enjoy the holidays this year due to their own health issues, the rigors of travel, the loss of loved ones, family conflicts, etc.  Yet in our trials, we should still seek to experience the peace, hope, and joy that our Savior provides. 

With all of the activities of this year, I am already spent so I must admit that I am less than enthused with respect to any more activities that make significant demands of me.  However, I realize that celebrating the incarnation of Christ and the time spent with family will have benefits both spiritually and emotionally.  I believe our ever gracious Savior understands my weakness and placed Isaiah 41:10 before me in light of the advent season as a reminder of my true source of peace, hope and joy.

Continue Reading…

The post Celebrating in times of Distress appeared first on Dancing Through the Pain.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

Yet again I find myself failing.  I have done what I can to pace myself, but my body is weak and does not seem to be up to the task these days, therefore, this will be brief. 

Continue Reading…

The post Joy in Failing appeared first on Dancing Through the Pain.

His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”  Matthew 25:23

This past weekend, my daughter and I performed the father daughter dance at her wedding reception.  It was not flawless, but it was fun and was, by the accounts of others, beautiful and well done.  However, those three minutes and thirty-one seconds of dancing were the end result of hours of instruction and practice.  Throughout the last few months there was a fair amount of perseverance for both of us.  My daughter was juggling work, moving, wedding planning, dance lessons with her husband, and at the end a sinus infection in addition to lessons with me.  For my part, the normal responsibilities of life, the extra activity necessary for the wedding preparations as well as getting our home ready for company and the frequent dance lessons caused by body to get too run down.  On one occasion my wife and our dance instructor ended a dance lesson shortly after we began because I was too fatigued to function well.  The Monday and Tuesday prior to the wedding, I was also struggling to do anything of value.  In short, the celebratory dance that was enjoyed was culmination of a fair amount of graceful perseverance.  It was a series of choices to take risks and rise above adversity to live well.  It was choosing perseverance.

Continue Reading…

The post Graceful Perseverance appeared first on Dancing Through the Pain.

To know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; to give prudence to the naive, to the youth knowledge and discretion, a wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.  Proverbs 1:2-7

Well the New Year has begun and as I discussed in the last post of December (“Joy Mixed with Sorrow”), the year is already shaping up with a mix of ups and downs.  God has blessed me with new opportunities to serve Him, traveling mercies, daily provisions that meet spiritual and physical needs as well as celebrations with family.  However, we have already had some stressful situations as well as being concerned with significant challenges facing family and friends.  One concern is that we must decide what to do with our dog who has outbursts that prevent us from trusting her to be good-natured (if interested, see “Animal Instincts and Obedience School”) and present concerns for liability.  I really love this dog, but she snarls and snaps for no apparent reason.  Further, in the back of my mind is an upcoming visit to a new doctor.  There is the hope that after 28 years of significant illness there might be an answer which helps manage my health issues more effectively.  However, past history suggests that it is likely another vain attempt.   The mantra that I apply to difficult situations and uncertainties is “God remains on His throne and is in control”.  I don’t say that lightly as it reminds me of both where hope lies and that my experiences have ramifications beyond my finite ability to understand.  As helpful as that is, I also need to work on how I react to the ups and downs of life.  So as I progress through the year, my goal is to focus on four things: a soft heart, discernment, joy and gratitude.

Continue Reading…

The post Focus appeared first on Dancing Through the Pain.

“They sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, ‘For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.’ And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.  Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.”  Ezra 3:11-13

New Year’s Eve is the time when we tend to evaluate the past year and look to the new one with a hope of great things to come.  Our best New Year’s Eve was December 31, 1981.  That night our younger daughter was born and there was literally a party atmosphere in the delivery room.  In addition to my wife and me, there were two doctors, three interns, a couple of nurses and an anesthesiologist.  Rather than waiting for a ball to drop in New York City, we were awaiting the arrival of a child.  While it was mostly a joyful event, there was also pain as my wife would have to recover from the surgery.  While we like to label each year as good or bad, the reality of this life is that most years are a mixture of joy and sorrow.  That was the mood as the exiles from Babylon viewed the foundation of the new temple.  Those that remembered the former glory of Jerusalem wept at over the loss of what once was.  However, there was also the joy of Jerusalem being rebuilt.  It’s a good lesson in life…how to gracefully accept the joys and sorrows of life understanding that God has orchestrated our lives with purpose so that in the end we may be blessed with a joyful eternity. 

Continue Reading…

The post Joy Mixed With Sorrow appeared first on Dancing Through the Pain.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28

I was reading a devotional by John Piper recently that stressed how we should prepare our hearts during Advent in order to celebrate Christmas properly, i.e. Advent is to Christmas as Lent is to Easter.  Too often, we get so caught up in the preparations and parties associated with Christmas that we fail to settle our souls and worship Christ for His priceless gift freely offered.  That offer, or rather our Savior’s invitation, is the basis of our celebration for without it, there is no peace, joy or forgiveness.  While Matthew 11:28 is not a passage normally associated with Advent, it does speak to the heart of Christ’s mission as He came to earth and dwelt among us so long ago.

Continue Reading…

The post The Invitation appeared first on Dancing Through the Pain.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  Hebrews 10:23

For several years after I became seriously ill, I didn’t plan any events in my life.  I had no confidence that I would be around for the long haul, therefore, planning was out of the question.  The problem was a lack of hope.  While I still had the hope of eternity, I had no hope that God would sustain my body or that I could endure.  Eventually, that lack of hope made my soul sick.  Thankfully, God sustained me and slowly began to educate me on the finer points of living well before Him.  One of those lessons was that there seem to be two kinds of hope: jubilant hope and steadfast hope.  While I had witnessed plenty of examples of jubilant hope e.g. the hope that comes with: salvation, marriage, or a healthy newborn child, and the like, I had no living images of steadfast hope to lean on.  The culture in which I was raised didn’t deal kindly with people who openly discussed their problems and therefore, was devoid of discussions regarding God’s use of trials to mold, shape and equip them.  In that light, let’s consider a few images of steadfast hope, specifically hope that is: teachable, observant, patient, resilient, faithful trusting that God is enough.

Continue Reading…

The post Images of Hope appeared first on Dancing Through the Pain.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9

My wife and I went to a dinner theater last week with my aunt, uncle and a few of their friends.  Shortly before the intermission, one of the ladies in our group collapsed into the lap of the woman sitting next to her.  Admittedly, given her symptoms, most of us thought that she was dying.  Thankfully, by the time the ambulance arrived, she had recovered enough to walk to the gurney.  After spending the night in the hospital, she was released with a heart monitor.  Aside from the obvious concerns for those involved, it raised a deeply rooted fear of my own.  As much as I accept God’s will in my life, the thought of a public medical emergency still haunts me…and I’ve had a few.  For many of us, it raises concerns about embarrassment, image, and acceptance.  Ultimately, we cannot control the events of our lives, but we can control our response to them with a bit of truth.

Continue Reading…

The post Controlling the Uncontrollable appeared first on Dancing Through the Pain.

“Trouble and anguish have come upon me, yet Your commandments are my delight.  Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.”  Psalm 119:143-144

Healthy relationships are built on knowledge, understanding and grace.  Sharing a conversation with a person will, in most cases, allow one to get to know them.   However, that does not necessarily mean that they have any kind of significant relationship…at this point they are, for the most part, acquaintances.    Solid relationships are built when people share their lives.  They celebrate the high points together, comfort at low points and offer aid, wisdom and guidance in the midst of struggles.  Grace covers the gap between knowledge and understanding as well as when there is a need for forgiveness.  Developing a strong relationship takes time and effort but yields a great reward.

Last week I was looking for scripture verses to post on social media and came across Psalm 119:43-44.  Despite having read and sung it many times, this time it struck a nerve.  The natural tendency of any human when faced with trouble that causes anguish is to seek understanding.  The important question is: what kind of understanding?

Continue Reading…

The post Trouble, Anguish and Understanding Pt. 1 appeared first on Dancing Through the Pain.

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  1 John 4:10-11

My Aunt Margaret and Uncle Wilbur raised sheep.  For the twelve years I was in elementary school through high school, some portion of the summer was spent at their home.  One Wednesday evening we were getting ready to go to church and my uncle got a call that dogs had gotten into one of their pastures.  My aunt and I went on to church while my uncle and older brother went to check on the sheep.  While the dogs were removed quickly, it wasn’t until we had the light of day the following morning that the damage that they had done could be assessed.  I remember riding in the back of the truck looking for injured sheep.  There were several and the scene wasn’t pretty.  Uncle Wilbur loaded a couple on the truck to take home, but most, if not all, of the attacked sheep died.  The basic tactic of the dogs was to chase the herd until one of the sheep got separated, attack it and then repeat the process.    In most situations, there is usually safety in numbers, but isolation weakens our level of protection.

Isolation comes in many forms.  Like many, mine is associated primarily due to illness and my inability to work.  For others, it may be personality type, a change in marital status, leaving the work force, increasing frailties as a result of age, or any of a number of other issues which may present themselves individually or in concert.  Further, one does not need to spend a lot of time unaccompanied to feel isolated.  Often I have felt completely alone while surrounded by people.  Satan loves to find us isolated as it makes us more vulnerable to his attacks.  Just like the dogs with sheep, he uses our vulnerability to undermine our thought processes and, thereby, erode our faith.  One of his first targets is our sense of worth.   He works on us until we begin to forget our true value.

Continue Reading…

The post True Value appeared first on Dancing Through the Pain.