Tag: Grateful

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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Beautiful Interruptions

I am often asked what are “Beautiful Interruptions”, that I encourage everyone to embrace? Beautiful Interruptions are about slowing down to see the needs of people around us. Beautiful Interruptions are about seeing a world that exists outside of our own little piece of the world. Beautiful Interruptions are about seeing a hurting world that needs a little extra love and encouragement. Beautiful Interruptions are about keeping things in perspective. I pray your day is filled with Beautiful Interruptions. ~OC

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Health Advocate

I am a professional patient. Nothing I am excited about. Definitely nothing to brag about. It’s just a fact. The past 17 years, I have learned a lot about the medical field and being a patient. Of course, I didn’t learn all this overnight. My wife Laura and I have made some mistakes along the way. Listened to some doctors when we really should have been kicking them to the curb. In a nice way of course. The biggest lesson we have learned is you have to be your own health advocate. If you are not physically, mentally or emotionally able to take that role on, please find a trusted family member or friend to take on that role for you. You might need more than one advocate. Being your own health advocate or entrusting someone with that role is one of the best decisions you will make during your health journey.~OC

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Heaven And A New Body

In 2017, I had to have a feeding tube inserted. Since then, I have had to have several replacement feeding tubes. Just another part of this crazy beautiful journey. Last Tuesday, while shaving my feeding tube fell completely out of my stomach. The anchor that keeps the feeding tube in my stomach deflated. I had to go to the hospital and have surgery to replace my feeding tube. That’s where I had a experience, that has changed my life forever.

After arriving at the hospital, the surgeon decided based on my current health condition they would not use anesthesia during surgery. They would just numb the area around my feeding tube. When I was taken to the operating room and the surgeon surveyed the situation, it was decided that I would actually need anesthesia. No big deal. I have been under anesthesia many times. After the anesthesia was administered everything changed.

While I was under anesthesia, I believe I actually went to heaven. You read that correctly. On Tuesday April 16, 2019, I spent a few moments in heaven. No, it was not a near death experience. During surgery, I was walking down a brightly lit road. I felt peace that I have never felt before. During my visit, I was actually in a new body. I was no longer in pain. My body felt whole. I saw what I believed to be levels during my experience. I actually believe it was steps. I felt like I was home. During this experience, I never saw God or anyone else. I also never heard the audible voice of God, but I did hear him speak to my heart. What He shared was disappointing. I heard God tell me it was not my time. God shared he had more for me to accomplish. I remember being disappointed and not wanting to come back to earth. I was ready to be home in heaven, but God was not ready for me yet. I then woke up in the recovery room. Usually when I come out of anesthesia, I am very talkative. My wife Laura shared this time I was totally quiet. So quiet, she was actually concerned something was wrong. Laura shared I just kept looking up to the sky, like I was searching for something. Of course, she had no idea the experience I had just woke up from. When I was able to verbally share what happened to me later that night, everything made sense to her. I was trying to get back to heaven. Oh, how I wanted to get back. But I realized God wants me here to finish the mission he has given me. A mission to truly love and encourage others. That desire is greater today than ever before.

Why did God allow me to experience heaven? That is something I am still processing. Several people have shared that with everything I have been through health wise the past 17 years, God wanted me to experience my new body for just a moment. I am not sure, but that new body felt really good. I may never know for sure why God blessed me with this beautiful experience, but I know I will never be the same.

I have been a little hesitant to share my experience. I know some people will say I was under anesthesia and that I never actually visited heaven. Believe me, I had that same thought. Some people will say I made the whole thing up. Once again, I had to asked myself that same question. But after going through all of those different scenarios, I know I experienced heaven for a brief moment. I keep going back to the peace I felt. It was a peace I have never felt before. I cannot put that feeling into words. I just know my life was changed that day and will never be the same.

Another reason I have been hesitant to share my experience, is I never want to cheapen the experience. I feel my words do not and cannot fully convey what I experienced. I do not want my experience to be about me. When I do share my experience, I feel overwhelmed by it. I get very emotional. That is a feeling I never want to lose. I continue to pray for God’s guidance as I share my experience.

Dear God, never allow this experience to be about me. Please help me be honest and real as I share the experience you have given me. I also pray my life will never be the same. May my experience encourage others. I thank you for allowing me to get a small glimpse of heaven. I cannot wait to get back. ~OC

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Prayer

This week I have really been drawn to worship music. My heart has been heavy with so many family and friends hurting. I want to help each of them. I know I cannot be with each of them, but I can pray for them. Prayer has played a major role in my life. I truly believe I would not be here today, if not for the prayers of many. Prayer has never been a second option for me. Prayer has always been my first option. Today I lift up all who are dealing with health issues, mental health issues, relationship issues, addiction issues, financial issues, employment issues, & housing issues. I pray for those who don’t feel good enough. You are! I pray for those who feel alone. Your not! I pray for those who feel defeated. Your not! I pray for those who feel like giving up. Please don’t! If you ever need to talk, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I am here to listen. I pray your day is filled with beautiful moments. You are loved. ~OC

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