LIFE --1 Hour At A Time!

Monday, August 27, 2012

THE SILVERSMITH

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES THAT EXPLAINS WHY WE SUFFER.

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot;then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end.

-author unknown

Posted by Bluebirdy at 8:21 PM 3 comments Links to this post

Friday, August 24, 2012

OH NO!!

I was deleting old drafts, and the "posts" page popped up, and I deleted a couple of posts!!! SO FRUSTRATING! It took all the strength I had to make that post yesterday or the day before. It was the one about what we can learn from suffering and trials. Oh man! FIVE of them are gone. Oh well... Everything happens for a reason.
*sigh*.

Posted by Bluebirdy at 7:47 PM 0 comments Links to this post

Thursday, August 23, 2012

My Absence

He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will

rest in the shadow of the Almighty. –Psalm 91:04

Hello friends,

I’m sorry I’ve only posted 2 posts in 1 year. My health got much worse, which affected my concentration, so I am no longer able to think like I used to. I part of each day semi-conscious due to various health problems, and even my vision changes from hour to hour.

However, through it all, I am at peace, more than any other time in my life. I feel the Lord near. I feel His guidance, His whispers, His comforts through the Holy Ghost. I am most blessed!! Depression and anxiety are gone. I get frustrated now and then, but not a true clinical depression.

In January I went through a divorce. I tried for 8 years to get permission for my husband to immigrate to Canada. Why it took 8 years, will never make sense to me. It was only a few years that we realized that this marriage would not work out. I had become too sick to help him in every way a wife helps a husband, and to help him adapt to a whole new culture. We wanted to stop the immigration process earlier, but we weren’t allowed to, unless we claimed that one of us committed marriage fraud, which would mean jail. So we just kept going through the torment of paperwork over and over and over, and the emotional turmoil involved. The Dr. suspected that a lot of my heart problems came from the immigration stress for so many years. When we learned that hubby would not even be allowed a visitor’s visa, and I’m too sick to go to another country, we decided it’s best if we broke it off, to give hubby a chance to fall in love and have a normal marriage with children.

In February I had a head injury that has also caused problems. They called it a mild TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), with post-concussion syndrome.

In April a Dr. told me I need a heart transplant, so I guess one of the big problems with my brain is not enough blood getting to it. I won’t be getting the heart transplant. I don’t qualify for the transplant list, because I have other organs that are failing; and because lupus would attack the new heart too. Even if my health was better, I’ve been told that in Canada, (or possibly just my province) people who are on disability don’t qualify, because the gov’t doesn’t spend large amounts on us. I was denied a pacemaker/internal defibrillator a number of years ago. I am not a bit scared though, because every time my heart has stopped, if there wasn’t a medical person around to restart it, God would restart it, and He will continue to do so until my purpose is finished for being kept alive.

I’ve missed the blogging community, and I’ve lost a lot of friends because I was not strong enough to keep up with email replies. I’m hoping I can attend to my blog more often, but I might be using a lot of pictures rather than a lot of writing. I’ll do what I can. Thanks to those of you who have kept in touch with me through all of this. I hope to be able to start blog-hopping again.
May the Lord bless you as He has blessed me!

Posted by Bluebirdy at 7:26 PM 2 comments Links to this post

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Struggles, But Protected by Angels

I’m struggling, but also I have felt like I was surrounded by angels' protection twice in 4 days. Went unconscious for 24 hours, then 2 days later, had blood sugar so high it usually stops a person’s heart, so passed out again before I could call 911. Mom is pretty much bedridden with bleeding and peeling and terribly painful feet, no Dr. knows the answer, so I’m trying to do more for her, when I can't do much at all. We have prayed and found a few helpful items, but no cure. I have had 4 organs go into partial failure, adding to 3 others that have been bad for many years. I am on medicines for 3 of those organs. One organ is my pancreas, so last week I was put on insulin. I had to take 9 pokes a day, (5 injections and 4 tests daily) then I got allergic to one of the insulins, so I had to add 3 allergy injections a day. Then I found out I was allergic to the allergy shot too, which made me go unconscious, so when I woke up the next day I told the Dr. I wouldn’t take that again. She said my life is in danger without that insulin, but it’s in worse danger with the allergies, so she’s concerned. Today I’m still having chest pain from the dangerously high blood sugar yesterday, but this too shall pass. It feels like I will stay alive no matter how many things go wrong with me, so I will just be expected to keep movng even with many organs failing. Eagerly awaiting the Lord's coming.

Before last week, I was very hopeful, because one of the medicines for one of the organs started making me think so much clearer and brought back my memory and I thought I had a new chance at life. But as always, whenever one thing gets corrected, lupus has to cause 3 other problems to prevent any advancement toward health. It’s discouraging, but I have the Lord, and He is my comfort and my strength.

I wish everyone could feel the peace and comfort I feel, even through pain and severe weakness.

Bless you all,
Sheila

Posted by Bluebirdy at 1:13 PM 1 comments Links to this post

Monday, July 11, 2011

ADAPTATION & ADJUSTMENT

Chameleons are so amazing. If you go to youtube and look at videos of them, they can hide in front of things that have many colors, even patterned fabric. They have been created with natural ability to adapt to every circumstance. The camoflage is for their protection.

Humans seem to have been able to adapt to so many changes of climate and lifestyle and disaster and change in income, change in family size when new babies come. It seems that one of the few things a body never adapts to, or get used to, is pain. I have had worsening pain since age 15. If a person lives that long with almost any other situation, they would adapt to that. Why do our bodies never adjust to pain? There are so many other health problems that come with long-term pain, which create more things to adjust to, while becoming more physically weakened, with less ability to be strong enough to adjust.

I have studies natural remedies for all my conditions, but now I need to study natural remedies for Multiple Sclerosis.

My mind and body is changing so fast, it's frightening. Things that used to take me 1 hour to write or do, now take 3 hours, and I don't have the strength to do much of anything. 10 constant symptoms at once while trying to do everything for Mom makes me spend progressively more time doubled up in pain every day. Like I said in post below, that has benefits for Mom, but I am not adjusting to this!

If any of you can find any uplifting thoughts or scriptures about adapting to unbearable circumstances, I would appreciate reading them so very much.

Thanks!