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Listen to this devotional: |
Listen while you read: "His Yoke Is Easy"1 (Lyrics) |
John 13:34-35 – A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (NIV)
One summer night, when my six-year-old granddaughter, Riley, and I came into the house after a wiener roast, as always, she wanted to play on my iPad®. After telling her where it was, I took a forbidden bite of leftover cherry delight while no one was watching. After all, I thought, I stuck to my diet all evening, and what would one bite hurt? As soon as that delicious morsel hit my mouth, I went into a coughing fit, or what was later diagnosed as "paradoxical vocal fold disorder". It is a long name for your vocal folds closing and allowing no air to come in. But not to worry, because after you fall to the floor as if dead, you will indeed start to breathe again. (Did you like the way that I shortened that up for you?) I coughed a few times, only causing my vocal folds to close even tighter, so that absolutely no air could pass. I talked to myself, Remember what you were told: just relax! Finally returning with the iPad, Riley was playing Angry Birds. She glanced my way but probably didn't think that the peculiar colour of blue that I had become by this time was unusual. If I had had the air to talk, I would have told her that she could be a hero on the 10 o'clock news for saving her grandma if she would put down the iPad and call 911!
I did think about going to heaven, and in my oxygen-deprived mind, that was looking better all the time.
I was finally able to get enough air out to say, "Get your Mom!" To that came a "Huh?" As sweet as she is and one of my most precious blessings, she just didn't understand. About that time, my daughter came in, and I sucked air for a few minutes and started to feel better.
As I sat at the computer to share my story, I thought about those who suffer in ways that they can't explain. In our busy world, how many have those scars hidden away? How many cannot speak because the very life is being choked out of them by oppression, depression, or desperation? How many of the rest of us fiddle while Rome burns or play Angry Birds while grandma dies? To be honest, many of us feel like we are in a vice grip ourselves, and circumstances are squeezing the very life out of us. Like Riley, we don't always understand every situation, but we can be there for others in their time of sifting. I pray today that the Lord will make my senses aware of those who are hurting. May I linger long enough to hear hurt in their voices. I want to see in their eyes trouble that may be tearing their family apart. I want to be available to help, and most definitely, to show them the One Who can show them the way.
Do you feel the same way?
Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see those in need, and give us the courage and strength to help our brothers and sisters. Oh, and grandmas, too! Amen.
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Love this story, Jeanie, and the application.
So glad you were ok Jeanie! Thank you for today’s devotional.
Amen Jeanie.
PS that’ll teach you to not sneak forbidden food again won’t it!
Thank you.
Thanks for sharing again keep up the good work.
(Ontario)
Yes, I feel that way sometimes with my family where my son has not talked to me in four years.
Blessings.
Thanks for your good words today, Jeanie. Yes, it is very important that we always reach out to others and be ready to help wherever we can. Blessings for your special writings.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging and enlightening devotional with us. As someone who suffers from food allergies, I can definitely relate to your experience and pray you never have another attack. Blessings.
Jeanie, WOW! Your dramatic writing today packed a punch with me. I pray I too will see people as Jesus sees them, and as he sees me. To be seen and heard is the cry for air for all of us. Thank you for writing.
Amen and amen!
My prayer also. How scary was your experience and thankful God used it for such a time as this.
God bless.
Cheering to have some humour in the Daily Devotional. I’d love to meet Riley.
Back to the real world…wars, pestilence, and in BC, rain.
Thanks for a glimpse into your family, “bless ’em all!”
(BC)
Hi Jeanie. I am glad you survived and shared your story. I suffer with hay fever that can close my throat when I get a big enough dose of an allergen in my nose. It is a scary scene. Glad you lived through yours. Have you had any cherry pie since? All the best.
Thank you for today’s message. I enjoyed the humor and heart. Those of us who have seen a few years seem better at recognizing a story in others. Maybe that is why God gave us retirement…so we have time to hear the stories and bring people to Jesus for healing.
I knew this must be yours just by the title, Jeanie! I’ve had a couple of experiences similar to that and it is terrifying, but there’s always a lesson in every experience, right? Recently, I fell on my left knee and injured myself. I haven’t had much experience with hospitals and surgeries, so I’m not looking forward to what’s to come, but I have already counted many blessings in this.
Jeannie, I love your writing style and of course the message. I felt like I was right there with you… struggling to breathe and unable to vocalize!
I had just finished a Zoom meeting with Hospice volunteers before I started reading this devotional.
This portion really resonated with me, especially after that Zoom:
I pray today that the Lord will make my senses aware of those who are hurting. May I linger long enough to hear hurt in their voices. I want to see in their eyes trouble that may be tearing their family apart. I want to be available to help, and most definitely, to show them the One Who can show them the way.
Thanks for sharing this!
Oh, Jeanie – I was gripped by your mixture of tragedy and comedy. So often, that’s exactly what life brings, and we do not know how another person is affected. Bless you for creating this scene that draws us closer to Christ.
Wow! That was traumatic! Yes, you are right: I can get wrapped up in my own life and not see, hear what’s happening around me. The news tells us of Ukraine and Palestine and Chinese persecutions and such, things we can only pray about, all the while missing opportunities close at hand. Thanks!
Thanks, Jeannie.
We’re glad you survived and told us this story. That is a beautiful prayer, also.