Tag: Grateful

Hanging Out With Superheroes

I have been blessed to hang out with Superheros for almost 18 years. I am not talking about Batman, Superman, The Black Panther or Wonder Woman. No, my Superheroes do not wear capes or have really cool toys. Well some of them might disagree with that statement. My Superheroes are some of the strongest and giving people I know. Let me share some of their stories.

Good Sam/Florida Cancer Specialist Heroes: These group of heroes from Good Samaritan Medical Center have helped keep me alive for the past 17 years. They are Nurses (Shoutout to 4 South), CNA’s, Housekeepers, Maintenance Workers, Patient Transport, Dietitians, Techs (from various departments), Therapist (from various departments), Food Services (they still check to see if I want anything), Admitting and the parade of Doctors. They each work long hours with little fanfare. If they were to read this post, they would be embarrassed. Because they didn’t choose to be super heroes for the applause. They definitely would not call themselves Superheroes. But I do. These unassuming heroes show up for work each day and save lives. Thank you.

My Medical Team: This list could go on for days. One person I have to mention by name is Dr. James Harris. He is definitely a Superhero. Dr. Harris was my oncologist for almost 17 years before retiring earlier this year. He was the type of doctor who gave you his personal cell phone number and told you to call him if you needed. Over the years, Dr. Harris received many phone calls from my wife Laura. He always answered. Dr. Harris truly cared for each of his patients. I saw him walking the halls of 4 South on many early mornings. When you mention the name Dr. Harris be prepared to hear some amazing stories. Thank you.

Fellow Overcomers: I have been blessed to sit next to or walk the halls with many patients over the years. I have been inspired by their strength and love for life. They have taught me how to navigate through my own crazy beautiful health journey. We have laughed. We have cried. We have shared stories. We have remembered those that fought a tough battle. We have become family. Thank you.

The OC Drivers/Visitors: These are the family and friends who have taken time out of their schedules over the years, to give me rides to treatment/appointments and have sat with me many times. The pressure they have taken off of my bride is amazing. It has been wonderful to hear their stories over the years. Thank you.

My Rockstar: My number one Super Hero is my wife Laura. She has been by my side from day one of this crazy beautiful health journey. Over the past 17.5 years, Laura has worn many hats. She has had to make a lot of tough decisions. She has been and will continue to be my Rockstar. Thank you. Love you.

Those are the Superheroes in my life. They are greater than any Super Hero Hollywood could ever create. I pray you have these type of Superheroes in your life. ~OC

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Why A Christian?

I am a Christian. A lot of my family and and friends are Christians. There are 2.18 billion Christians worldwide. That is a lot of people. But why do so many people call themselves a Christian? Have you ever spent time asking yourself that question? I think it’s a pretty important question to not only ponder, but to have an answer. Here is a little of my story answering this very important question.

I grew up in a home where everyone believed in God. We were taught to treat people with respect. To love our neighbors. And don’t you ever take the Lord’s name in vain. But we did not attend church on a regular basis. Not that my parents had anything against church. We just did not make it a priority. My brother and I were baptized at the local Baptist Church as children. I considered myself a Christian at that time, but could really not tell you why. That started changing in 1985.

I graduated from Twin Lakes High School in 1984. Yes, I am that old. After high school, I was not really sure what I wanted for the rest of my life. Then in 1985, a group of cheerleaders from my old high school were involved in a terrible car accident on their way home from a competition. Several were injured and one young lady was tragically killed. I did not know this young lady very well, but I knew her. Her father was actually one of my middle school teachers. We called it Junior High back in the day. That accident rocked a lot of people. Including myself. At Debbie’s funeral several people shared how short life was and how were we choosing to live it. I walked away from that funeral with a lot of questions. How was I living my life? Was my life making a difference?

Several months later, I truly accepted Jesus into my life and was baptized. I wish I could tell you that I turned away from my old life and everything was full of sunshine from that day on. Sadly that was not the case. For several years, I walked in between my old life and my new life in Jesus. Then one of the greatest things in my life happened. My parents moved away from West Palm Beach, FL. Wait. What?

In 1988, my parents house was bought by the airport and they decided to move away from West Palm Beach. At the time, I was attending Palm Beach Atlantic University and living at home. With my parents moving, I decided to move on campus. A life changing decision. I was blessed to have some great roommates in Tim Tate, Ben Starling, Pedro Linares and Bruce Speers. They were patient with this young guy who had a lot of questions about faith. Besides my roommates, Tim Moffett Jennifer Vaughn, Julie Tyler and Babs Tate decided to pour life into me. Never any judgement. Just a lot of understanding and a bunch of grace. It was during that year that I fully surrendered my whole life to Jesus. I have been far from perfect since making that decision, but I have continued to seek after Jesus.

Today as I walk through this crazy beautiful health journey, I am grateful for those people who built into me all those years ago. They helped me become the person God created me to be. Thank you.

Because I saw firsthand people living out their faith and sharing it with me. Because I have seen God use a broken person (me), to help encourage many as I walk through this crazy beautiful health journey. The only answer I have for any of that is Jesus. That is why I am a Christian. ~OC

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What My Crazy Beautiful Journey Has Taught Me About Living

When people meet me, they are always amazed how positive and upbeat I am. I have been asked more times than I can count, why I am not depressed? Doctors love asking that question. I guess people just think I should be hiding under the covers and living in pure devastation. Obviously they have never met me.

No, I have decided to live a life full of adventure and gratitude. It is a choice I have to make on a daily basis. Sometimes a hourly basis. I made the decision early on in this crazy beautiful health journey, to not allow my health issues to consume me. Not let it become my identity. I made the choice to be grateful for all the blessings I have experienced on this journey. That has truly been a life changing choice. Choosing to live with a heart of gratitude has allowed me to remain upbeat and full of joy. Yes, there are still some very tough days, but the blessings far outweigh the negatives of this journey.

I have also found that writing and talking about my journey has been very healing. It has also given my family and friends permission to ask about my journey. That has been important for everyone.

Humor has also been positive. If you know Laura and I, you know our humor tends to be on the dark side. And we do not apologize for it. Laura and I have been given the stink eye more than once when it comes to our dark humor. Our humor is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it works for us. Hey, if you don’t like it, go get your own life threatening health issues.

This crazy beautiful health journey has taught me that when I am truly living, I do not have the time to worry about the negatives this storm brings.

During this journey, God has also revealed his purpose for my life. It’s pretty simple. My purpose is to encourage and love others. Not just people who look and think like me. No, that would be easy. No, God has called me to encourage and love everyone He brings my way. That is not always easy, but the blessings have been unbelievable. I love this crazy beautiful journey God has me traveling. I would not change a thing. ~OC

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Good Morning God

Good morning God. Thank you for blessing me with another day. May my thoughts, words, attitude and actions reflect your presence in my life. Please bless and protect my family, friends and those around the world who are in need. Thank you for loving me on my worst day. Amen. ~OC

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Some Lessons Learned On The Journey

During my crazy beautiful health journey, God has shared many lessons with me. I have shared some of these lessons in earlier blog post. Today, I would like to share some more lessons learned during my journey. Some of these lessons have been difficult to walk through, but they have brought me closer to God. They have made me a better person. They are lessons I never want to forget.

Don’t Live In Fear. Surrender everything to God. Including your fear. My life is filled with a lot of unknowns. It would be easy live in fear. For moments I have. Thank goodness, I chose not to live in that fear. No, instead I continue to choose to live in Hope. Not always easy, but making the choice to not live in fear has been life changing.

Let God’s Word Empower You. Spend time in God’s word. Speak it. Pray it. Sing it. Live it out. During my good days and bad days I choose to let God’s Word pour over me.

Embrace Every Moments. Make every moment count. Tell your love ones you love them. Share some hugs. Take that trip. Give freely. So some grace. Love without prejudice.

Be Grateful. Take time to be thankful for your many blessings. My journey has been filled with some rough moments, but I have so much to be grateful for. My wife. My family and friends. My medical team. Great insurance. Beautiful moments.

Never Give Up. The temptation is always there. The journey is too hard. The pain is too great. There are plenty of reasons to give up, but I encourage you to keep fighting. Reach out to trusted family and friends to walk with you during those moments of wanting to give up.

I hope these lessons will encourage you. They are not easy to walk through. Believe me I know. I have been trying to live them out for the past 17 years. ~OC

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God’s Presence

Dear God, thank you for your presence during my crazy beautiful health journey. You have walked with me each step of the way. You have blessed me with your guidance and strength. You have never left or forsaken me.

As I wrote the words above, I thought about my family and friends walking through their own journey. Dear God, I pray you would remind them that even during the darkest moments, you are with them. That you are gracious and good, and that no detail escapes your control. Dear God, give them the strength to seek you during the darkest days. Give them the strength to pray when the storm seems overwhelming. Give them the strength to praise You during the storm. Give them the strength to celebrate You during the victories.

Dear God, I know you see my family and friends that are hurting. I pray you would remind them that you’ve not forgotten them. I pray they would feel your presence. Thank you. ~OC

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A Prayer For Friends

Dear God, thank you for my friends. I am grateful for each of them. I pray you would watch over them this day. You know the storms they are facing. I pray you would wrap your loving arms around them like a warm blanket. Help me be a blessing to them as they walk through the storm. Help me take the focus off myself and be available to them. Dear God, help me be the friend you have called me to be. Amen. ~OC

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Thankful And Grateful

Thank God throughout this crazy beautiful journey called Life. A thankful attitude opens the windows of heaven. A thankful heart opens our hearts to God’s Presence. I am thankful and grateful for the many blessings and lessons learned during my own journey. ~OC

I will give thanks to God with everything I’ve got. God’s works are so great, worth a lifetime of study- endless enjoyment! Splendor and beauty mark his craft. His generosity never gives out. His mercies are His memorial. This God of Grace. This God of Love ~Psalm 111:1-5

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Grateful For True Friendships

Today’s a new day! True friendship is not about being there when it’s convenient; it’s about being there when it’s not. I am grateful for the true friends who continue stick by me during this crazy beautiful health journey. ~OC

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Truly Living

Remember the first cell phones? They were big. Real big! Remember when you waited until after 7pm to call your family and friends? Free minutes! Young folks don’t know the struggle. Oh the memories.

Cell phones have come a long way in 20+ years. They are definitely smaller. No more waiting until after 7 pm to make calls. Cell phones today are little computers. You do not even have to dial a number anymore. Just tell your phone who to call.

But in an age when our cell phones and other devices have given us almost everything within seconds to make our lives easier, have we slowly stopped living? Have you been to a restaurant, amusement park, church or family gathering lately and looked around the room? Just about everyone is on their phone. Checking emails and social media. I am guilty of it more than I care to admit. We are completely ignoring the people around us. Instead of engaging conversations, we have become obsessed with how many likes or comments our latest post received.

We have lost the art of a great conversation. Truly enjoying a beautiful moment with family and friends. We cannot put our phones down for a minute for fear of missing something important. We just have to know what our favorite celebrity had for lunch. Meanwhile, we are missing out on life. Real life. Not what we see on social media. We have lost the art of truly living.

Truly living is about spending time with loved ones. I mean actually looking them in the eye and having real conversations. Truly living is helping others. Truly living is watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset and not worrying about capturing the perfect picture, but instead embracing a beautiful moment. Truly living is visiting a friend dealing with the storms of life. Truly living is laughing with family and friends.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am not saying we need to toss our cell phones or laptops in the trash. Technology definitely has its place in our lives. But I am saying it’s okay to put your devices down sometimes and have a real conversation with the person sitting next to you. To truly live. ~OC

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