Not the Way I Pictured It

 One of my wife’s favorite movies is Lost in Yonkers. In it Bella, a sweet, mentally challenged woman who is probably in her late 30s eventually meets someone who she believes is the man of her dreams. She calls a family meeting to share with them her plans to marry Johnny, an usher from the local movie theater.

The Lowest Valley

I am a fan of bluegrass music. That works well living as I do now in the Nashville, Tennessee, area. I was not always a fan. It took a movie directed by two Jewish gentlemen from Minnesota to turn me into one, but a crazy film titled O Brother, Where Art Thou? did the trick. If you were to ask me, “What’s on your IPod?” chances are the answer will either be Alison Krauss or Ralph Stanley.

Just before I moved from Boston to Nashville a friend gave me a Ralph Stanley album of gospel songs. One of the tunes is called “The Lowest Valley,” and the refrain says “When I’m in the lowest valley, I can climb the highest hill.”

Not too Much

Dru has suffered from so many debilitating physical problems that you need a scorecard to keep track. Her battle with diabetes caused her to lose her vision. She had kidney failure, regular dialysis and finally a kidney transplant. She has had at least two surgeries for cancer. Her schedule for doctors’ appointments seems like a fulltime job. Her husband, Paul, is at her side when not working, and he suffers vicariously with her.

But…it doesn’t sound quite right to use the word “suffers” in regard to them. I know it is an accurate description of things they must feel, but together they face their trials with such faith and humor, that it is not the first thing you think of when you picture them. They are encouragers, always thinking of how to strengthen others who face challenges.

In my book, Mind Change, Power Thought #29 reads:

God has not given

you too much.

If there is something you have to

face, you can face it.

If there is something you must

overcome, you can overcome it.

To paraphrase C.S. Lewis:

”When something must be done, there is no use talking

about whether or not it can be done.”

           

It looks like Dru and Paul have an unfair load. But they show us that “God has not given too much” and that living a life of love is something they can still do with joy.

Not too Much

Dru has suffered from so many debilitating physical problems that you need a scorecard to keep track. Her battle with diabetes caused her to lose her vision. She had kidney failure, regular dialysis and finally a kidney transplant. She has had at least two surgeries for cancer. Her schedule for doctors’ appointments seems like a fulltime job. Her husband, Paul, is at her side when not working, and he suffers vicariously with her.

But…it doesn’t sound quite right to use the word “suffers” in regard to them. I know it is an accurate description of things they must feel, but together they face their trials with such faith and humor, that it is not the first thing you think of when you picture them. They are encouragers, always thinking of how to strengthen others who face challenges.

In my book, Mind Change, Power Thought #29 reads:

God has not given

you too much.

If there is something you have to

face, you can face it.

If there is something you must

overcome, you can overcome it.

To paraphrase C.S. Lewis:

”When something must be done, there is no use talking

about whether or not it can be done.”

           

It looks like Dru and Paul have an unfair load. But they show us that “God has not given too much” and that living a life of love is something they can still do with joy.