The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Extraordinary Time
Response: You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light”–
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.
Emphasis mine Ps 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab
Where can I go from your spirit? This is a very interesting question.
The Psalmist clearly states there is nowhere to go and not encounter God.
and,
Having God thoroughly in our lives is the way it should be.
God is not a part-time God but a God who wants to be fully in your life all the time,
Why?
To lead all of us to a better life no matter the circumstances.
Last week, we reported a successful Operation.
If you remember, we wrote that God cared for me and did not mention the Doctors and Nurses who physically cared for me.
Was this an oversight on my part?
Not at all.
The whole process started with my going to Confession Tuesday, receiving the Healing of the Sick the second time, and receiving communion, Body, and blood. All this and the knowledge that the Man on the Middle Cross said I could come made it so that I was living in a deep Peace throughout this one-hundred-and-fifteen-day journey.
When I wrote last week’s blog, I realized that God took care of me by giving me a medical team who were on their game.
I prayed that the Medical team would have a great day the morning of the operation and during my recovery.
I am saying this because I also said this prayer almost every time I had my catheter changed, six times over the previous one-hundred and fifteen days.
I didn’t say this prayer the last time I went in for a catheter exchange; if it could go wrong, it did. Weeeeeeee had a bad day, and I was in constant pain for four days. God took care of me, though, because they didn’t get a big enough sample, and when I went in to give a larger sample, I convinced them to pull out the catheter a quarter of an inch.
The bottom line is that I didn’t include God in this simple procedure four days earlier. I didn’t pray for a great day.
I forgot to pray, and God told me They didn’t like being left out.
The next Nurse I saw on Friday did as I asked, and I started to get relief.
How about you?
Do you go to God first or the Doctor if you have a health issue?
For me, it’s going to God, and I thank God for the difficulty and know God will take care of me. And this is what happened when I waited for the operation, the operation itself, and my recovery.
God took care of me!
As I reported, I had other healings during the last three months, to mention three;
I sleep better.
I have grown in Patience.
I have become even more trusting.
And why not,
Because Where can I go from your spirit?
If you want to join Team Jesus, try praying. “This is the day the lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.”
Sidebar:
This week’s Sidebar is for all the men reading our blog.
My Doctor, Dr. VerLee, told Gail and me at our meeting that seventy percent of men develop an enlarged prostate by age seventy. Now you know why we are devoting our Sidebar to briefly explain what I experienced.
An enlarged prostate may be cured through drugs, exercise, (Kegel, you can find on YouTube, which I started thirty days before the operation), a Surgical Operation called a TURP; men who have had this procedure call it a Roto-Rooter.
A very good friend, Jim Kelly, had an enlarged prostate six months before I had mine and told me about a procedure with the acronym HoLEP. God taking care of me!
I told the Urologist in the hospital that I wanted the newest operation, NOT the Roto-Rooter. The Doctor did as we asked. God took care of me!
I was told I would have to wait one hundred and fifteen days before I could have the operation. God took care of me because God had other plans for me during this time.
Gail and I met the Doctor, and he told us he was currently the only Surgeon in Maine who performs the HoLEP procedure, and he only does sixteen procedures a month. God took care of me. I had a Surgeon Gail, and I both liked and would just have to be patient.
Not my strong suit.
There were two days when the catheter hurt. The rest of the time, the catheter was in me. I didn’t even know it was in me until the last week, as we reported above. God took care of me.
I had the operation, two hours, and to explain what happened, picture an orange; the Surgeon inserts a tube through the penis with a light, camera, and a laser in that tube. The Surgeon takes all the meat out of the orange, leaving only the outside skin.
Yes, I was sound asleep. The machine that did the operation was very big, and I believe the doctor was behind a console performing the procedure.
After the operation, I felt NO pain or discomfort. I couldn’t believe it. There was no pain or discomfort after two hours on the operating table. God took care of me!
And, Yes, I was filled with Peace. Doctors and Hospitals haven’t in the past filled me with Peace.
After the operation, I spent the night in the Hospital while they flushed me out, passed the flow test, and came home; the hardest part was not overdoing it.
If Jim hadn’t told me about this procedure, I probably would have had the Roto-Rooter, and I can’t thank God enough for Jim passing the information about the HoLEP procedure along to me.
From the start of this journey, when I was initially diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure, until my coming home from the operation, a hundred and fifteen days later, this has been a God- Prayer Journey all the way, and yes, there were a few days I wondered if God was still there, satan.
God was!
The medical team, Doctors, and Hospital Nurses were the best, and yes, I used my time in the hospital to reflect the Joy I felt from all the people God brought into my life because of my enlarged prostate. I also believe that because of the Joy I reflected, the Doctors, Nurses, and my roommate went out of their way to care for me.
Gail was the best, and the support Gail and I received from our family and friends overwhelmed us.
I also want to thank all of you for your prayers. I e-mail our blog to people I know and was always brought to tears when someone would stop me and tell me I was in their prayers.
The outpouring I have received has and does move me to tears.
Thank you!
Life is simple; God is Good all the time!
Picture:
Fort Williams at the Children’s Garden Picture by Jennifer Hansen
Please keep Snapping!
Several people from foreign countries have asked for my email address, but I am still waiting to hear back. We decided to include my email for your convenience.
If you want a copy of the prayers we discussed, email me.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, no people, please, because we have to get permission from that person to use their photograph. By sending your picture, you consent to allow us to reprint that picture in our next book, God Thoughts 2023, with your name and any comments in the Blog.
