Back At Ya!

Sunday morning in Church our minister spoke of stopping to say “Thank You”. Interesting isn’t it that our early training of saying please and thank you seems to come naturally when someone passes the salt ‘n pepper, but we forget to say thank you to He who gave us life. Two simple words that if we take time to use them will give us peace and knowledge we never dreamed of.

It made me stop and think about those blessings in my life. that I now question if I had remembered to say thank you at the time.

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The earliest was when I was 9 years old. I had been very badly sexually molested by a schoolteacher for over a year, frightened beyond description, and tortured in a manner that held my heart captive, it was only by the grace of God that I was able to finally find a way to tell and get the help I needed then to make it stop.

There, I’ve said it out loud for the whole world to know now…. Some 57 odd years later, with tears surfacing again, in sorrow for what that little girl had to go through then, I said it, I wrote it, and I survived it. She survived more than any child should have to. I’m pretty sure I said “thank you” then in some way, but just to be on the safe side, Thank you God for seeing me through that and for the strength it gave me. I beg you to be with others who are going through it today.

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Next on the list would be allowing me to find Jim….. my best friend, my lover, my other soul, my mate and companion for life and all that he brought me including our children. Thank you God for my family, they are my life.

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Thank you God for staying with us as we made it through the following years of trials and tribulations in career’s, losing loved ones, raising our children, the best of the best times, the worst of the worst times, dear friends, homes, and the many lessons we learned during that period in our lives.

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Thank you God for the strength you provided that fulfilled our life long dream of opening our own business nearly 40 years after we started our lives together. There were many rough, hard days but you seen us through them and gave us yet another opportunity to grow and learn and still survive on that today.

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Thank you God for our “retirement” years….. Our grandchildren we love so dearly, the trips we’ve been able to take, and our on-growing circle of friends and family and Church who continue to support us.

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Which brings me to today…… Thank you God for the opportunity I have had, to learn from my heath issues. Thank you for allowing me to share it with others…. It’s been a long row to hoe but you gave me strength to take it as it came. Now you are providing a way for me to encourage others to do the same.

From the back and muscle problems I learned that I am not invincible and that one needs to take care of situations as they arise and not put off matters of health.

From the cancer I learned about the growing technology in our medical advances and the utmost importance of support, faith, and knowing that one can live with a deadly disease because research continues through your wisdom.

From the heart attack I learned many things, which you can always refer back to back to my series on the “matrix”.

From all of that Thank you God for the determination and focus you’ve given me to do what I need to do.

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Since the heart attack, I have completed surgery on my back and am in the process of rebuilding my muscles thru exercise rehabilitation with a professional who has taught me much. I have completed bladder surgery which was an immediate fix and have recuperated and rebuilt from that. I’ve had my eyes examined and with a new pair of glasses, I can see almost clearly again. I've completed some dental work, I also welcomed a recent check up with my cancer doctor that gave me good news of still being in remission. I am looking forward to a similar response from my heart doctor in the next few weeks, and am in the process of getting some skin problems taken care of which I’m sure will be an improvement in my appearance and comfort.

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One thing for sure God, you’ve kept me plenty busy, especially this past year, but then learning lessons is never easy it.

In 16 days I will have completed all you told me you wanted me to do except for the continued maintenance which I will work on the rest of my life.

So Thank you God! May you continue to show me a way to encourage others in the most important job you give us, that being to take care of ourselves ….. and Thank You for going through all of this with me and so much more, as only you know all the details. With each of these major events in my life thus far, good and bad, I have learned. Not always easily, but I have learned from them. As I continue to grow and become the person you want me to be, I will make sure I always stop to say Thank you. (If I get busy and slip up, you can rest assured that eventually I will) My prayer today is that you will continue to bless me with your mercy and strength and that I’ll remember who to give credit to.

Ya know something God? You literally made my day…..

here’s right back at ya!

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