My Dear Readers/Followers,
I changed my mind.
I have written two different articles and a poem that I thought I might share this week. Those possible entries based on a negative and challenging mindset could have sufficed. Although I’m not against sharing some of my raw, defeatist but authentic feelings at times, my daughter sent me recent photographs that shifted my thinking.
Though I’m no stranger in general to the depression/anxiety battle, each new year, January loves to sneak back in like a serpent in a beautiful garden and tempts me to forget the progress I’ve made. January has never been a friend of mine.
Two pictures helped me re-assess my recent mindset.
The first picture is of my husband in July. I took it within an hour after seeing him following close to a 12-hour surgery to remove his voice box that contained a cancerous tumor. It was not a sight for the faint at heart. It is not a picture that my husband is comfortable sharing outside of our immediate family. I hung on to the hope that we would eventually compare this to a better day.
Photo #1 from July 8, 2021
He had not woken fully from sedation. In the center of his neck was a hole with blood around the perimeter. Covering the hole was a large tube running to a humidification machine. His abdomen was caved in with protruding ribs on either side. His tongue made it appear he had three lips. His breathing would no longer come from that natural area. An incision with at least 25 staples began high on his left shoulder and curved just below his left breast. His neck had incisions and staples circling each side. A total of five drains were invasive over various areas of his chest and abdomen. His face was pale, and he lay motionless. Tubes and monitors decorated the rest of his hospital gown.
This second photo is the one to compare progress that happens when God is at work. The second picture barely resembles the same man. It makes my heart smile. It gives me hope and reminds me where to focus my thoughts.
Photo #2, December 29, 2021
A very healthy man smiles ear to ear, looking out from this photo. He is a healthy weight. His scars are evident but healed. Revealing muscles and strength, each of his arms are in position for what is often a man’s bragging rights in presenting his “guns.” Around his neck is an electrolarynx. Once feared as our potential worst enemy, it is what has allowed him to speak again. After only communicating on paper, it is his saving grace. Behind him is a picture hanging in The Creation Museum we visited.
Jesus is in this picture. The title is Power Over Physical Ailments. Then it lists nine bible verses when Jesus healed people from various sicknesses.
“Darran Arnold” is not in one of them. Yet, comparing the two pictures, less than six months apart, he very well could be.
So laying any other struggles aside, I dare not forget this. We can often overlook how much God has done. How could I? But yet, I am human, and from the beginning of time, we have been guilty of this. But I declare the healing power of Jesus real directly from my husband’s progress. I praise him for it, and I humbly ask for continuing good news and progress. I ask for strength to overcome all my battles, even what appears to be my struggle with an annual January mindset. I ask that nothing ever overshadows this blessing and truth.
Thank you, Lord!
Hoping you find a place in my space! ♥
Reflection Question:
How do you concentrate on your blessings instead of your challenges?