Lesson on Life
Below is something I found on a blog of a young man who died last Sunday morning just six days short of his 19th birthday. For me it is both thought- and action-provoking as I look at my own life and how much of it has passed and wonder about how much I have left on this earth.
If you've watched CNN or caught them on-line, maybe you saw the headlines about Miles Levin. Anderson Cooper did a story about him last Tuesday evening. I don't usually read this stuff, but because he was young and had written a blog, I thought I'd visit it. You'll find it at carepages.com; you have to sign in and you can check on levinstory to read the blog.
I started at the most recent postings and then skipped to the beginning posts and then met up somewhere in the middle of his blog, though I'm not sure I've read all of it yet. For me, it's one of those things that you can only take so much of at one time, though after reading his blog, I feel like a coward in admitting that. This young man and his family and friends have gone through hell and here I am not even able to read through it. Cancer at any age is straight from the pit of hell and there are many who fight it, win over it and succoumb to it.
Before I put in what he wrote about life, though, there is one thing I have to say about one of his other posts. He said that God must have given him this disease so that he could teach other people how to live and die with it. With much humility and respect for him and his loving and grieving family, as I have never personally faced such a diagnosis and path, I'll say outright that I have to disagree - God is not putting sickness on anyone to teach them or anyone else how to live or die.
That's not presumption on my part, I just must say that God sent Jesus to bear our sins and sicknesses. His is a dual provision for us and Jesus fulfilled both of them. Healing for Miles was as available (and possible) for him as it was for the children of Israel coming out of Egypt and throughout the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus continued to reveal the Father's will by healing all who would believe and receive healing. Today the power of healing and divine health is still available for us because God never changes. How to receive and walk in health is involved in faith and standing in that faith and there are lots of scripture to show us how to do that. I'm not an expert at it, but I want to be, because sickness ravages families and churches and so I think it's worthy of our study, prayer and consideration to find God's will concerning it. In future posts, maybe I can do that.
But for now, I thought I'd post this one post about life from his blog.
"I went to the driving range the other day and I was thinking...
I was thinking how you start out with a big bucket full of golf balls, and you just start hitting away carelessly. You have dozens of them, each individual ball means nothing so you just hit, hit, hit. One ball gone is practically inconsequential when subtracted from your bottomless bucket. There are no practice swings or technique re-evaluations after a bad shot, because so many more tries remain. Yet eventually you start to have to reach down towards the bottom of the bucket to scavenge for another shot and you realize that tries are running out. Now with just a handful left, each swing becomes more meaningful. The right technique becomes more crucial, so between each shot you take a couple practice swings and a few deep breaths. There is a very strong need to end on a good note, even if every preceeding shot was horrible, getting it right at the end means a lot. You know as you tee up your last ball, "This is my final shot, I want to crush this with perfection; I must make this count." Limited quantities or limited time brings a new, precious value and signficance to anything you do. Live every day shooting as if its your last shot, I know I have to.
I found out today 5 year survival rates are just 20%."
Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus, thank you for Your mercy. Help me today to remember that others need also to receive mercy from me.
If you've watched CNN or caught them on-line, maybe you saw the headlines about Miles Levin. Anderson Cooper did a story about him last Tuesday evening. I don't usually read this stuff, but because he was young and had written a blog, I thought I'd visit it. You'll find it at carepages.com; you have to sign in and you can check on levinstory to read the blog.
I started at the most recent postings and then skipped to the beginning posts and then met up somewhere in the middle of his blog, though I'm not sure I've read all of it yet. For me, it's one of those things that you can only take so much of at one time, though after reading his blog, I feel like a coward in admitting that. This young man and his family and friends have gone through hell and here I am not even able to read through it. Cancer at any age is straight from the pit of hell and there are many who fight it, win over it and succoumb to it.
Before I put in what he wrote about life, though, there is one thing I have to say about one of his other posts. He said that God must have given him this disease so that he could teach other people how to live and die with it. With much humility and respect for him and his loving and grieving family, as I have never personally faced such a diagnosis and path, I'll say outright that I have to disagree - God is not putting sickness on anyone to teach them or anyone else how to live or die.
That's not presumption on my part, I just must say that God sent Jesus to bear our sins and sicknesses. His is a dual provision for us and Jesus fulfilled both of them. Healing for Miles was as available (and possible) for him as it was for the children of Israel coming out of Egypt and throughout the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus continued to reveal the Father's will by healing all who would believe and receive healing. Today the power of healing and divine health is still available for us because God never changes. How to receive and walk in health is involved in faith and standing in that faith and there are lots of scripture to show us how to do that. I'm not an expert at it, but I want to be, because sickness ravages families and churches and so I think it's worthy of our study, prayer and consideration to find God's will concerning it. In future posts, maybe I can do that.
But for now, I thought I'd post this one post about life from his blog.
"I went to the driving range the other day and I was thinking...
I was thinking how you start out with a big bucket full of golf balls, and you just start hitting away carelessly. You have dozens of them, each individual ball means nothing so you just hit, hit, hit. One ball gone is practically inconsequential when subtracted from your bottomless bucket. There are no practice swings or technique re-evaluations after a bad shot, because so many more tries remain. Yet eventually you start to have to reach down towards the bottom of the bucket to scavenge for another shot and you realize that tries are running out. Now with just a handful left, each swing becomes more meaningful. The right technique becomes more crucial, so between each shot you take a couple practice swings and a few deep breaths. There is a very strong need to end on a good note, even if every preceeding shot was horrible, getting it right at the end means a lot. You know as you tee up your last ball, "This is my final shot, I want to crush this with perfection; I must make this count." Limited quantities or limited time brings a new, precious value and signficance to anything you do. Live every day shooting as if its your last shot, I know I have to.
I found out today 5 year survival rates are just 20%."
Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus, thank you for Your mercy. Help me today to remember that others need also to receive mercy from me.
posted by Deborah at 8:40 AM
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