Little Do We Know

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,”
(Jeremiah 29:11)

One of my favorite movie lines is from a John Wayne Movie.  In “The
Alamo”, Wayne quotes a parson when he says "Little Do We Mortals Know".
  When we suffer from chronic illness and pain, we often feel as if our
lives no longer have any value. 

And, for me, that is the way it was in January of 2007.  My days were
spent laying on the floor of my
bedroom, in my parent's house.  I had lost my job,  my life, and now
had to deal with the results of
several surgeries for a severe back injury.  I asked myself, “how can
God possibly use me in the shape I am in?” 

My mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lymphoma in late February of 2007.
  Over the next several months, she had to have 24 hour care.  But, the
only person my parents had to help them was me.   All during this
period, I kept begging God to give me the strength to help my parents.   In
response, God raised me off of that floor, and gave me the strength to
take care of her all night, throughout the spring and summer.  If I
had not had all of my experience with hospitals and doctors, I would
never have known what to do to help my mother.  And, I always thought that
what I had been through was such a waste!   How little did I know.

We lost my mother on October 7th of last year.  But, God used my
mother's incredible strength of faith to strengthen my faith.  In all of
those terrible months that she was ill, she was never cross, never
complained, and was always gracious to the nurses and doctors!  Watching the
way this woman of God bore up under that terrible, devastating disease
made me ashamed of the way I had dealt with my own illness.

Even as bad as your situation is, God PROMISES that he still has great
plans for your life.  I am living proof that he keeps his promises.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Bill Shamblin. He suffers from degenerative disc disease, and severe
neuropathy from three back surgeries. He lives with his
parents in East Tennessee and has been out of work for three years.
Sometimes, the greatest test of faith is waiting on God's timing, not
our own