Celebrate Life

Working in the medical field can be very rewarding not just financially but psychologically and have the ability to break you or make you. How you choose to view each day and the situations that are presented will decide your outcome. It can be depressing at times when you see the many people that are sick, some terminally ill.  Who will show up with what disease is just unbelievable as there are no age restrictions, racial barriers, religious orientation or gender that decides. The rich gets sick and so too the poor. It is this observation that has increased my willingness to enjoy life and be thankful for each new day. 

If you have ever been sick, which is 99% likely you have, then you will know that the pain sickness brings can be excruciating. We all deal with illnesses differently as each person's pain threshold is different. Additionally, our mental strength varies and this affects how we see our sicknesses. Being in the medical field has brought me great joy to meet some very strong patients, adults and children alike that choose to see the good in the bad. Many patients will whine and complain and even tell you that they prefer to die than to bear the pain. However, some are quite bubble and smiling through it all, giving God thanks and praise. It is patients like these that inspire me the most. The ones that will shout a hallelujah when the pain hits. The ones that will encourage you to be thankful for life. It is easy to praise God when we are healthy and the sun is shining brightly, but the hardest thing to do at the sight of rain and feeling of pain. 

I recently heard two elderly patients having a conversation. These patients were complete strangers to each other but as one tried to get up from her seat she complained how her knees were no good and the pain was unbearable. The other patient was a older man who proceeded to assist her despite his weak state as well. While assisting his new friend he responded to her by saying many people have passed away with perfect knees so no need to complain but instead be thankful. I have since used this man's theory and outlook on life to get me through each trying day. Everytime I find myself with a migraine or any pain and about to complain I have reminded myself that many people who were healthy and without pain have passed away.  Many had good blood sugar levels but died anyhow. Many had good spines with no back pain but passed away nevertheless. Many had perfect skin, strong bones, perfect hearts, kidneys and other organs but died anyhow. Many were cancer free but died leaving many with cancer. The moral of the story is that we should learn to appreciate life and be thankful for the hope each new day brings.

Many people can testify of being told they would not live to see past a certain age with certain medical conditions but have outlived the doctors who told them so. I have a relative living for many years with bilateral kidney failure. He was told he needed to have a kidney transplant to survive but due to financial reasons is yet to have such transplant. Nevertheless, he is strong and bubble. He chooses to get up and greet each day with a smile than to lie in bed and cry about it. He has had to have dialysis atleast twice a weak for all these years but he chooses to be happy for each day he is granted. I am sure there are moments when he would wish he had a different outcome but despite he chooses to show us his happy side and has been a inspiration to the family.

 You too may be rotting with sickness today but healing may come tomorrow. Stop whining and start worshipping. Remember, that we are the clay, God is the Potter and He is able to piece us together again. Our days here on earth are numbered and unfortunately we simply are not told how many each of us has been granted, therefore use your days wisely and keep a positive view on life. Look at all the things you have been blessed with rather than all the things that are absent. No matter what sickness you have just know someone is more ill than you. You may not be able to walk but someone is not able to breathe on their own. You may not like having to take an injection each day, but someone else painfully goes through chemotherapy with a smile of hope. Sickness is never easy but neither was Jesus death on the cross for you and I.  In all things give thanks because this is the will of Christ Jesus concerning us. I often heard that it is not the length of ones life but the quality of life that is lived.  Therefore, live your lives based soundly on Jesus because death is sure but it is not our final destination. 

Here are a few scriptures that you may refer to during your difficulty of sickness.

1. Deuteronomy 32:39
2. Exodus 23:25
3. Isaiah 41:10
4. Isaiah 53:4-5
5. Jeremiah 30:17
6. Jeremiah 33:6
7. 1 Peter 2:24
8. Revelation 21:4
9. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
10. Psalms 34:17-22