I Make New Choices

I Make New Choices

On Tuesday, December 19, I have heart by-pass surgery.  I’ve apparently eaten a bit too many slices of bacon, a few too many French fries, Big Macs and pecan pies, Hostess Twinkies and Moon Pies. 

I made those choices.  No one forced that food on me. 

And I now make the choice to have this

surgery.  That too is not being forced on me, except for my will to live another twenty or so years and love Carolyn and hold her hand for those years yet to come.  

I have led a somewhat active life.  I’ve darted in and out of the gym for years.  Apparently, I darted out more than in, however … I put in a few miles on the treadmill here and there. 

I’ve eaten a lot of salmon and other delicious seafood delicacies while living here in Seattle.  Perhaps I was trying to overtake the bad eating I’ve done while living in other parts of America.  And now, I face those past choices I’ve made.

I make new choices.  I am making new choices.

My cardiologist says he can give me another twenty years.  I choose that.

Since my hospital stay in October I have been choosing a lot of new agendas.  For instance …

~I hit the gym 5 or 6 days every week.

~I count my carbs and sugar grams, sodium grams, and make sure I eat a good amount of protein.  I choose that.

~I chose to not eat those sugary Christmas cookies my granddaughters baked last Saturday.  Oh my, that frosting is so tempting, but that is my past ME.  I choose to leave those alone.

~I choose smaller portions on my plate.

~I choose salads to accompany most evening meals with a healthy dressing.

~I choose to listen to Carolyn’s counsel on ‘should I eat this snack or that other thing’.

~I choose to leave bread out of my diet at most meals.

~I continue to choose to take my meds on time, every time, every day. 

~I monitor my blood pressure and blood sugar numbers every day.

~I take my insulin every day.  The good news is this … my primary care doctor took me off one of my insulins and put me back on a prescription.  That was a grand day. 

~I am doing everything that is being asked of me.  Carolyn calls me the “Poster Child for Obedient Patients”.

I CHOOSE!

Get it? 

I CHOOSE!

I’ve had a lifetime of choosing, and some of those choices have gotten me into the situation I now face.  And now I make different choices.

And the biggest choice of all …

~I choose to continue to trust God through all of this.  I’ve had my moments, I must say.  There have been discouraging days, dizzy days, weak days, tempting days, and I have made it through all of them. 

I still choose to trust God.  I still believe He is with me.  I still feel His hand on me through it all.  That too is a choice.  Some in my situation, perhaps, curse God.  Not me.  Oh no.  I TRUST GOD.

This is my last post for this year.  I plan to write again in January after a good period of recovery and when my body and mind is ready to give you an UP-WORD.

Till then …

This is my morning reflection.

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Seeking a Miracle?

Seeking a Miracle?

I face surgery in two weeks.  Is there a miracle still available for me?  Did you notice the question mark in the title of this post?

If there is, perhaps this is what I seek.

I want a miracle of …

~A surgeon who has had a good night’s sleep

~Medical equipment that works properly and is well adjusted

~Nurses and operating room personnel who know where to stand, how to move, when to react, and professionals who know where to look and what to listen for from all the equipment that will be used

~Medicine that is in perfect proportions, and the right medicine for the right need at the right time

I want a miracle of …

~Comfort and peace for Carolyn and all my family members during the long wait for news of the success of my surgery

~A recovery that goes according to plan and the strength to do what is asked of me

~Those twenty-plus years my cardiologist says he can give me

~I want a miracle of the knowledge that kicks in from all the collective years of training my medical team has put in. 

~I want them to remember those snippets of notes from long-ago university texts books 

~I want God to guide their practiced hands and do their best work.

And if my miracle comes to pass … you’ll hear from me again through blogs and podcasts, emails and phone calls, and songs from a newly restored heart.

This is my morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

Words of Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

What I Know

What I Know

This I know …

I am alive today, therefore I shall continue using all my skills in ways that reflect my values and my integrity. 

I continually learn and hone my core

strengths and skills, and I like what I am discovering.  That also means I am narrowing my band width of what I do less well.  I am great at encouraging and validating my fellow human beings.  I’ll spend less time on the things I am less skilled in.

Books take me places and teach me things of value.  I shall forever be a reader, and will probably die with a few books on my nightstand.  By my estimation, I need to live another 100 years in order to read more of the books on my current list. 

God loves me as I am, not as I should be.  I’ll never be a Billy Graham or a Mother Teresa, but I am ME and I want to be ALL ME.  And God likes me.

I am deeply loved by a few incredible people – family mostly, and a few close friends.  Carolyn heads the list – my, how she loves me.  I’m settling into her love and the esteem she offers. 

My brand of creativity suits me well.  I can’t reach the world with my style and I am okay with that.  Any more, I focus on those who like and read and listen to what I produce.  The critics need to go find someone else to dislike.

I have a God-connection that I have worked out down through my years of living.  It is fashioned by my reading, my understanding of the nature of God, but mostly how I perceive how God has worked in my life up to this moment.  I’m learning more about faith and grace as I grow older. 

Faith - trust in the unseen hand of God.  Success, safety, good health – these are not assured.  However, my faith comes in spite of all of that.  Even in moments of lack, I still trust the God of my understanding.  The only assurance I have is this … He will be with me in the middle of every moment of my life.

Grace - the profound flow of the goodness of a merciful God and it is not something I deserve.  That is why it is grace.

There is more that I know.  Perhaps I’ll revisit this topic again.

This is my morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

Words of Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

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