During the later part of April this year my youngest was sick with severe tonsillitis. That sent him to the hospital for confinement because his fever was hard to control. We kept sponge bathing him, to no avail. We lost a lot of sleep--and money.
So we had no choice but to have him confined. He and my wife were there for two days. I visited them often, before going to the office and after. Thank God he's okay now, and thank God for the finances available. Although I felt abandoned again, I just kept believing that God was there all throughout. That consistent belief is God's grace in itself. Thank you God.
And then on May 6, my birthday, I was down with the flu--plus a tonsillitis bonus. I was down for 5 days with high fever that seldom got lower. My wife again lost sleep over sponge baths over me, and I lost lots of sleep, too. Then I had to do 4 blood tests just to make sure that what I had wasn't dengue. I thought it was, and it was scary. My wife was worried, too. Thank God it wasn't. But the high fever was burdensome.
Thank you, God, for touching my latest doctor so that he decided not to charge me his consultation fee. The blood tests were costly though. But thank God 2 of them were sponsored by my sister who works in a lab. But their blood test results were exactly why I had to do them two times over. Their results indicated low blood platelets--below 150--so I had to do it in another lab. In the other lab, the platelets were 210. Then I tried my sister's lab again, and I got the same low results again.
My wife decided then to do another one at St. Luke's to settle it once and for all. The result was 159, which was normal for one with high fever. We then had the results examined by the doc and he cleared me of dengue.
I still feel a bit weak today. I don't know why these things had to happen. I just wish there were more money blessing than needless expenses like that--if they could not be totally eliminated. I hope and wish that God would prosper all my livelihood so I and my wife can start living independently of men.
Just imagine, it's your birthday and you get the flu--something you never prayed for. While things you pray for are yet to be waited for--and we've been waiting for years!
Another Story..
One time last month, this guy called up. There are people who try to control you when they see that you're meek. They think it's a sign of weakness, so they make you do this and that and tell you what you have to do or what you must believe.
I used to be so tolerant of such people. I just keep quiet and listen to their garbage. Well, some of their words have some weight at times, but mostly they're nothing but trash. But God made me a very patient man so all my life I manage to tolerate these people. You give your hand and they swallow your arm, and then your whole body. I just let them my hand.
So this guy called up. He's a hand and arm eater. And he was again telling me what I should do and believe and lecturing me about how good he is. This time I got fed up and told him to keep his mouth shut, something to that effect. I told him I didn't believe in his mumbo-jumbo super foolish faith and he didn't need to tell me what the bible said about this and that. I've been pastor since 1983.
I think it's about time to tell these creatures that they have to go look for other people to eat. I've had enough. There's a time for everything, and the time to stop being tolerant of such people starts now. No, I won't be impatient with them--I'll just tell them hand and arm eating time is over.
I don't know why people need to control others and show themselves better than the rest. And then, if you look at their real lives, you see they stink. But this is the worse--they get richer and more blessed (and you don't) so they think they're on the right track and you're on the wrong one. So they lecture you. They don't believe that it's the heart and character that count. God measures success by how godly your character is--spiritual fruit--not how much money you have. But they don't believe that--though they call themselves Christians--and parade their money and bank accounts and material possessions and say they're so blessed by God and God's so pleased with them.
Lil Job, what kind of life is this?
Anyway, God be praised for all His mercies that are new each morning. Without that, we're gone. God has a plan and I must keep myself focused on him and his plan--no matter what the circumstances around.
