In chapel, during my first year of college, I distinctly remember hearing a classmate sing the old hymn, God Leads Us Along. Its message became foundational to my understanding of how God cares for his children. The essence is summed up in the refrain:
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.
Since then, I have come to understand that the intense pressure created by difficult times, enables one to truly value life, empathize with others and be equipped for service in the Kingdom of God. Linda grasped this truth much quicker than I did.
Looking Back
In my last blog, I indicated that I would chronicle the events which are, in my mind, tantamount to the eruption of a spiritual atomic bomb. That can best be done by establishing a timeline:
7/15/12 – 10/11/16: After retiring from the pastorate in Georgia, we moved into our new home in Cleveland, Tennessee, on August 7, 2013. The next three years and two months can be described as the best of times and the worst of times. Unlike pastoring, teaching online at Lee University allowed ample time for the two of us, as a couple, to develop a more intimate relationship with Christ, clearly define the core values of our lives, and prayerfully intercede for our children, grandchildren and descendants, who were yet to be born.
At the same time, the menace that had been hidden for ten years was about to become very visible. After getting comfortably settled in our new routine, during a heated conversation, Linda finally agreed to seek medical help for her increasing difficulties with memory. And, an appointment with a well-known Georgia neurologist was made. The initial visit took place on February 17, 2014. What followed was a dizzying series of physical evaluations, cognitive evaluations, lab work and imaging. Two things quickly became apparent: First, a certain diagnosis was not forthcoming; instead, it proved to be a moving target. Secondly, the enormity of the cost of all this was a harbinger of things to come. During this time, Linda and I developed a good relationship with her doctor, trusted him and had no reason, on her last visit on October 11, 2016, to believe that things were about to drastically change.
10/12/16 – 11/23/16: Our routines continued as usual. Then, everything changed in a moment. Linda and I had gone for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. After ordering the food, she selected a seat and I went to get the condiments. When I returned, she reached out her hand and said, “Hello, I am Michael’s mother. It’s nice to meet you.” I quickly realized that she was experiencing a break with reality and I silently cried out to God for wisdom. While she talked about meeting her friends from Lee, indicating that she was revisiting her college years, I was trying to devise a plan to get her out of the restaurant without creating a disturbance. After finishing our meal, I said, “It doesn’t look like your friends are coming, why don’t we go ahead and leave?” To my relief, she agreed. Two blocks from the restaurant, she snapped out of it with no memory of what had happened. Over the next three days, her doctor would not return my calls. Later, I would learn that he had shut down his office and declared bankruptcy. With the exception of some imaging that was done in Tennessee, I have never been able to get any of her medical records. This was the prelude to the eruption of the spiritual atomic bomb that I spoke about last week.
In Looking Back – Walking Forward (part 3), which will be posted next week, I will share the marvelous way that God intervened in the intensifying crisis and used people of influence — some that we had never met – to provide the medical help that we so desperately needed.
Walking Forward
God is always with us! Consider the truth of the second verse of God Leads Us Along:
Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.
Therefore, during the best of times and the worst of times, “…we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NIV).
Ron Harvard Ministries 