What interests me a lot is when something significant happens in my life, I like to analyze those happenings. We learn through the bible that God has this plan laid out for us. The problem is how do we know we are following God’s plan, or are we following our own plan.
There are events that happen in our lives that we actually overlook because they appear to be a normal part of our living here. The life events that I found were my childhood, my time in Vietnam, my first marriage, my second marriage, and my health problem. With each of these events, I broke them down to different points, or events that I felt impacted my life. I then looked up in the Bible to find out what was written about those events.
It was amazing what I did uncover and the mistakes that I have made through out my life. I also found the why’s of those mistakes and why those mistakes produced the results that they did. For the most part, my problems were generated because I didn’t follow the rules properly. For example, if you follow the speed limit you are in good graces with the Sheriff. If you speed and get caught, the Sheriff will issue a speeding ticket and you not only have to pay a hefty fine, your car insurance will also increase their premiums.
In my first marriage, the major problem I found was that we didn’t have the spirit of Jesus in our hearts. This resulted in a lot of arguing and lack of respect and support. In a marriage, it has to illuminate from both persons. Both have to look to Him first so that the right decisions can be made according to His rules. Both have to pray and give proper praise to Him for the type of life you live.
In my second marriage I learned about love, prayer, how to keep Jesus in my heart, and to respect her situation, culture, and her ways of living here. She would minister to cancer survivors about how to accept the fact they have cancer and give them comfort. I saw her suffering on the outside looking in. Now, I’m on the inside looking out with my cancer. It’s quite interesting because I’m able to accept this fact and by observing my wife’s actions, I have addressed them and am very comfortable with this.
She had a love for people and music. Before she came to the USA, I was working as a Music Minister at the First Baptist Church. I got her involved with the Ministry and our music and feelings radiated out not only to the Church, but to anyone who saw us sing.
Through out our marriage, I learnt to put her first in my life. Everything I wanted to do, work, start a business, our music, I wanted her to be with me. We worked at Wal-Mart together. We had some opportunity to minister to the staff there. We also worked together on projects. When her cancer came back, I was old enough to take an early retirement which gave me more time to be with her and take care of her needs. This gave me opportunities to develop things I could do over the internet with hopes of obtaining extra income.
When I look back, there were a lot of stepping stones that I had to follow to get me to this point of my life. My wife had cancer when she came here. She did not know this since the symptoms were still developing. In the Philippines, there is no medicine that are advanced as ours. She would have lasted 2 years or so (according to the research her son and I did). The treatments here gave her 7 more years of time. I have taken care of the elderly during my first marriage. I took care of my Mom during her process of dying. These events were my training so that I could properly take care of my wife in her time of need.
All events that has happened to include the bad, were Gods way of preparing me to be at this stage of my life. I keep busy writing articles, developing data bases with hopes of selling the designs, and in the process of starting my own business. When I’m around people, I radiate to them that I have Jesus in my heart. Right now my life is going very well. God has the plan for me, I just have to figure it out.
Thanks for continuing to share with us your journey in time because someday we each will have to walk that path and with Jesus in our life, we are never alone.
I never used to want to be cremated, but when my mother died, that was the only option I could afford. I went and watched the process. It kind of made me think of how our Viking ancestors and their burial pyres, and I felt like my Mom had a good sending off. I want to do that now too.