I will continue to pray this prayer and post on social media until there is justice for all in America. Current events at CVS, a cookout in California, a young girl selling lemonade, a young man at a pool in Indianapolis, a women wearing a Puerto Rican tee shirt and my own encounters with racist comments make this prayer even more urgent.

Praying for my brothers and sisters of color. Praying that as you walk down the street, people will not clutch their purses or bags a little tighter. Praying as you visit a place of business, you will not be hassled. I pray if for some reason you’re pulled over by the police, you will be treated with respect. I am saddened that I have to pray this prayer every day for my brothers and sisters of color, but I will continue to lift this prayer up each day. I will continue to speak out against the injustices in this world. ~OC

I believe in God’s power to heal by miracles or by medicine. I have seen God use both in my life. Whether my healing comes through a miracle of by modern medicine God still gets all the praise. Throughout this crazy/beautiful health journey, many people have prayed for my complete healing. Some of those prayers have been answered, but others have not. I am still dealing with several incurable diseases. Complete healing on earth is not always God’s plan for us. But even when our healing doesn’t come, I pray we will not waste the journey. Here are a few lesson I have learned along my crazy/beautiful journey.

1). Don’t believe your storm is a curse. My health journey has been a gift from God. Yes, a gift. Since my journey started in 2002, God has used my health challenges to teach me so many things. I have become more compassionate, patient, forgiving, less judgmental and more loving. God has also allowed me to become a health advocate, missionary and abolitionist during this journey. I have had the honor to pray with people who only had hours to live and rejoice with those who experienced a miracle. I personally don’t believe any of this would have been possible unless I was walking this health journey.

2). Spend more time in God’s word, with family/friends and less time on Google. It is easy to get caught up wanting to research everything you can when given a negative diagnosis. There is nothing wrong with wanting to find out more about the illness you’re facing. I actually encourage everyone to become their own health advocate. But we can go overboard at times. Our lives can get consumed by our health issues. Instead I would encourage you to spend time in your bible and with family/friends. That is where you will find your strength and encouragement. And believe me, when you’re going through a storm, you will need all the strength and encouragement you can get.

3). Don’t walk your journey alone. As I shared in point #2, surround yourself with positive, life speaking family and friends. I cannot imagine walking this journey alone. I have seen people do it and they were miserable. I have been blessed to be surrounded by a wonderful group of family and friends. Some have come and gone during my journey. At times that has hurt, but I refuse to dwell on the negatives. I choose to celebrate the family and friends who have stuck with me during the darkest and brightest moments of my journey. So don’t walk your journey alone.

4). Live with hope. Don’t waste your storm grieving as those who don’t have any hope. I know this is not always easy. Some days you just want curl up in bed and forget about the challenges you’re facing. Doing that every once in awhile is okay, but do not stay there. Call a friend. Take a walk. Listen to some music. Take a trip. Most importantly, reach out to God during those challenging moments. As Christians we should be living in hope. That doesn’t mean we will not have tough days, but those tough days should not define us. You are more than the current storm you’re facing. Your hope is not in the test results. Your hope is not in your medical team. Your hope is in God. He will never leave or forsake you. God is always with you. That should give you hope to make it another day.

5). Share your story. During my crazy/beautiful health journey, I have chosen to be very public with my story. That has been my choice. Not everyone wants to be so public. That is fine, but I would encourage you to share your story in some way. Not to shine the light on yourself, but to help someone else who is going through their own storm. When I first started my health challenge, I had no idea what to do. I was blessed to have some people step up and share their journey and how they survived. It meant the world to me. So, you might not choose to have your journey unfold publicly, but make sure you’re available to help someone starting their own health journey.

These are just a few lessons I have learned over the years. I pray they will help you as you walk through your own crazy/beautiful journey. ~OC

Health challenges are part of life. Everyone deals with a health issues every once in a while. When I first got sick in 2002, I thought I would be facing a short-term challenge. Never did I think I would still be fighting for my life in 2018.

My health history has not been an ordinary one. The first few years of my life I dealt with double pneumonia on several occasions. When puberty hit, I dealt with some major health issues. I was seen by several different doctors at major research hospitals around the country. But then things changed. From my middle teens until 2002, my health was on the upswing. Some minor issues here and there, but nothing major.

I share all this not for sympathy, but to share how even during the storms of life, you can still find happiness. When you’re dealing with multiple health issues, there are going to be challenges. Each day I wake up is truly a miracle. But even with all my health issues, I have made the choice to find the positives in life. To find the joy in every situation. That is not always easy, but I want to embrace this crazy/beautiful health journey. I never want my health challenges to keep me from living life. I mean truly living life.

So despite the twist and turns of your own journey, I encourage you to persevere. To embrace the crazy/beautiful journey God has you traveling. To find the blessings. ~OC

I love living in Florida. I was born and raised in South Florida. I would not want to live anywhere else. But imagine if God created the whole world to look just like South Florida. Would you enjoy that world? I wouldn’t.

I am happy that God created a much more diverse world. Instead of one big South Florida, we see the beauty and creativity of God’s creation. God created the wonder of the Grand Canyon and the coral reefs of Australia. He created the beauty of the four seasons.

God also created a world filled with diverse people. Different colors and cultures. I cannot imagine a world filled with people who only look like me or think like me. How boring would that be? No, I am in awe of how different God made his people.

I know there are some people who would disagree with me. They would love to see a world filled with people of one color and mindset. But that’s not the world God created. He must of thought how boring would the world be if everyone looks and acts like everyone else. I totally agree God.

That is why I am so passionate about speaking out against injustices against anyone based on their skin color, culture, faith, or place of birth. God created all of us with his beautiful paintbrush, full of different colors, cultures and believes. God loves diversity. And when we choose to embrace all the beautiful, glorious, messy differences of His people, I believe we catch a small glimpse of heaven. ~OC

Our cities and towns are full of people in need. How often do we pass them by? We are too busy. We have to get to that next meeting or get together. We are too busy posting about our latest vacation or meal. They don’t look like us. They are from a different country than us. They belong to a different faith than us. I would love to help, but I am already late for church. How many beautiful interruptions are we missing because it’s not convenient? How many times are we missing heavenly moments because they don’t look like our perception of heaven? I believe heaven is where Jesus is, and I think maybe He’s waiting for us to realize that truth.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

My purpose in life basically comes down to two things. Sounds simple I know. But doing these two things has made my life so much better. Both are pretty easy to do. They can be life changing. My purpose in life is to Love and Encourage others. Pretty simple. ~OC

Our world is filled with a lot of judgment and hate. Just jump on social media for a minute. Turn on the news. Just walk outside of your house. We are being bombarded with negativity. When did we become so mean? When did hurting people become a sport? Have we lost all semblance of kindness?

I decided to complete a self checkup on myself. At times I struggle with critiquing others. Sometimes I assume the worst in people. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy. During this crazy/beautiful journey I have chipped away at the sharp edges that needed softening. I also came to realize every problem has the same beautiful answer.

More grace.

Showing more grace might heal all the judgment, hate and negativity our world is facing. More grace might heal our broken relationships.

So I have committed to living a life where my first response is not to judge others. Not to critique or pass judgment on everything I read on social media or hear on the news. Will I miss the mark at times. Yes I will. But during those moments I will choose to show myself some grace.

Sharing more grace is the beginning freedom, and let’s be honest we all need more of it. ~OC

Back in 2014, I started to lose my appetite. I did not think much about it at the time because I needed to lose some extra weight. After years of being on prednisone I had put on a lot of weight. During my running days my weight was around 150. After being on prednisone for six months, my weight had ballooned up past 200. I had never weighed that much in my life. Unfortunately, I could not exercise to take the weight off. All my weight went to my stomach. All I wanted was for the weight to come off. Be careful of what you hope for.

By 2015, I eating and drinking were becoming more difficult. Anytime I would eat or drink, I would feel like I just ate a Thanksgiving meal. And that was just after one bite. The nausea was becoming unbearable. I was finally diagnosed with gastroparesis. In October of 2015, doctors decided to inplant a gastro pacemaker into my stomach to help with the nausea. I found some relief from the nausea. Unfortunately it did nothing for my appetite. By 2016, I was only taking in about 350 calories a day and the weight was coming off quickly. I was losing about 2 pounds a day. After years of complaining about my extra weight, I was thankful for the extra weight. So was wife and medical team. I truly believe God allowed me to gain this extra weight because he knew I would need it. By March 2017, my weight was down to 112 pounds and things were not looking good. I was given two choices. One, be admitted into the hospital and have a feeding tube inserted. Second, be admitted into the hospital and never go home. I decided God was not finished with me yet and decided to have the feeding tube implanted. Since March 2017, life has been full of ups and downs with my feeding tube. I am glad to say I have put on some much needed weight. But the thought of living the rest of my life on a feeding tube is not really appealing. My prayer has always been to have the ability to eat and drink again. I need a miracle.

Back in June of this year, my medical team decided to refer my case to Emory in Atlanta. I had actually found a new procedure that can help patients with gastroparesis eat again. The procedure is called a G-POEM. My wife and I met with the doctors at Emory and they shared I needed to complete several tests before I could be considered for the procedure. But there is more to the story.

During our trip to Emory, I really felt God telling me my stomach would be healed. I was not sure if that meant this new procedure would be my miracle or if God would actually heal my stomach. To be honest, I am hoping God will completely heal me of this  gastroparesis. I have completed all the tests Emory ordered. We should get the results next week. I am believing the test will show my stomach is completely healed. That would surely be a miracle. Laura and I are blessed to have so many people praying for my healing. I am happy to report that my stomach has been able to handle a few Ensures this week. That is a miracle! I believe it’s the first of many. ~OC

The world is filled with so much anger and hate these days. Here are a few simple ways we can love people.

-Pray for and with them.

-Look for ways to encourage them.

-Share a kind word and smile.

-Love them.

-Forgive them.

-Stop judging them.

-Look for ways to serve them.

-Listen to them.

-Spend time with them.

-Stand up for them.

~OC