Hanging in There

Be forewarned — what you’re about to read is going to sound more like an off-the-cuff email than a well thought out post. I jotted down a few sentences earlier while at the hospital with Don’s mom and will try to make some sense of them now at the computer.

Mom is doing as well as can be expected for a patient in kidney failure. And us? We are hanging in there. We’ve had only one middle of the night run to the hospital and have had several “ups” mixed in with the “downs”. We’re thanking God for the “ups”.

It’s no fun watching kidney failure up close and personal. The kidneys perform an amazing life-sustaining filtering function for our bodies, and when they’re not working as they should, all the other systems of the body begin to fall apart as well. As the kidneys fail, toxins build up and soon poison the body until it is overwhelmed. Don, our resident anatomy and physiology teacher, could give you a more biologically accurate explanation, but this is my simple understanding of what Mom is going through.

This week as the physical “filtering” system God equipped us with has been on my mind, I also thought about a spiritual filter God has given us. The Bible, the Word of God, acts as our spiritual kidney, helping us get rid of the toxins that threaten to poison our souls and spirits each day. Sin, bitterness, unforgiveness, negative thinking, worldly philosophies, poor self-image, and other weapons of spiritual warfare need constant filtering to keep our hearts pure and our minds healthy and spiritually renewed.

God’s Word provides that filter. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that one of the uses of scripture is correcting. He also identifies the Word as one of the offensive weapons we are to wield in spiritual combat (Ephesians 6:17).

These are just a few initial thoughts. I’m sure you can think of other insights and applications — even other tools God has given us to help filter the junk out of our lives. Any thoughts? Please feel free to share.

Thanks so much for your prayers. Please continue. They help keep us hanging in there.

*Flickr photo by DieselDemon

Comments

  1. Cheryl, this is an excellent post. What a perfect analogy! Thank you for the reminder that God’s Word is a filter for us, and when we fail to maintain that filter in our lives, we get poisoned.

    Praying for all of you!

  2. Great analogy Cheryl. Totally makes sense.

  3. Great post. I am lifting you up in prayer.

    God showed us an example in Mark, we are to carry our friends, family, and people in need in prayer just as the paralytic’s friends carried him to Jesus and lowered him through the roof.

    Annette

  4. I’m praying for Don’s Mom and for all of you. Watching someone you have loved and leaned on become helpless and weak is a painful experience, I know.

    Thanks for the analogy. It’s well put, my friend.

    Grace & Peace on all of you.

    Jean

  5. Oh, Cheryl, what a difficult labor your are enduring; I’m sorry for your weary and your sadness in the process. I will certainly be thinking about you as you move through these days of uncertainty and profound release. May God’s sustaining presence and peace be your portion as you walk this road.

    peace~elaine

  6. Good stuff! My husband had a kidney transplant last June. Our son gave him a kidney. All I can say is your post helped give me a heart transplant this morning. Thank you!

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