Monday Morning Musings ...

It is technically monday morning, but it is 20 minutes after midnight and I haven't gone to bed yet. I have an all day event that begins early tomorrow so I am posting tonight. Today was a great day. Good friends spent Saturday evening with us and shared their story in worship today.

My friend is 2 months past having a kidney transplant. Yesterday he shared his story with our congregation during worship. It was a powerful time and a powerful story. He shared so much more than just about his transplant. He shared how God really got a hold of him during the crisis. He was open about how he was angry with God and made some bad choices during that time. He shared how everything came crashing down on him and how his wife and children were Jesus to him during that time. He shared how the process of rebuilding his relationship with Jesus was going and how his marriage is now growing even stronger.

At 38 years of age to be told you are in end stage kidney failure and would have to be on dialysis 12 hours a week unless he could get a kidney transplant. Imagine how difficult that news and reality would be? It took nearly 2 years to have the kidney transplant. There were several people who began testing to be a donor and failed somewhere along the process. A friend told him at the beginning of the donor search that God had told her she was going to be his donor. As it turns it she was, it just took a long time for the hospital to get around to her and then it took 6 months for her to become approved and the transplant to be scheduled.

His is a story of playing a character of having it all together. When his facade was revealed he felt more broken than failing kidneys ever made him feel. He is now well physically thanks to a selfless sacrifice of a friend. He is now well spiritually thanks to a loving, gracious, second chance giving God. He is now well in his marriage thanks to a loving God, a spirit-filled, loving wife. He is now seeking to make a difference in this world with the second chances he has been granted.

What are you doing with your second chances? What are you doing to make a difference in your world? What do you need to completely surrender to God? What do you need to get honest with yourself and God about?

In the afternoon we went to the graduation open house of one of my volleyball players, those are always fun. In the evening our small group came to our house. We had a lot of laugh as we ate together. We had a good time in our Bible study and sharing together. I love our small group. It was a very good day.