Rip-offs and Other Facts of Life

Mr. Nasty Cold Virus

Confession time for this big fat liar.

In my column a couple of weeks back (Never Say Never, January 3), I waxed eloquent about how healthy I am becoming. No sooner had I hit “send” than Mr. Nasty Cold Virus rang my doorbell and by the time you were reading said column, he had pushed his way through and flattened me. What a rip-off! I really thought all the discipline and healthy eating put me above the law. Not so, apparently.

My friend Jim tells me no amount of healthy lifestyle can protect you from snotty-nosed grandkids. My conscience whispers it’s all the forbidden food I ate over Christmas. Dr. Bruce Narvey calls it tempting fate. The Bible says pride goes before a fall. Whatever you call it, boy, did I feel dumb.

Oh well, it was true when I wrote it. Honest.

To add insult to injury, while the bug still lingered, I visited my lung doctor who told me the scan taken back in December not only showed no improvement, but my lungs actually appear a little worse! How can that be, when I feel so much better? I guess it means I’m healthier overall, in spite of the disease. Not necessarily a bad thing, but still. This, too, felt like a rip-off, but I thought of a few possible ideas of how it may have happened:

One, my lungs just happened to be having a bad hair day when they took the picture. They’re normally much prettier.

Two, all my saxophone playing caused the nodules in my lungs to expand with air.

Three, I’m thinner now than I was in the previous picture, thereby making the nodules appear larger in perspective.

Four, with all the vegetables I’ve been devouring, I probably inhaled some broccoli and it showed up on the scan.

Five, my scans got mixed up with those of some bloke who worked 40 years in an asbestos factory.

I suspect none of those theories would hold up for long. However, I’ll tell you three things I know for sure. First, I feel much better and no test results can take that away from me. Second, my naturopathic doctor has helped me far more than any other, so what kind of idiot would abandon her advice now? Third, I believe with all my heart God could heal me instantaneously if he chose to. He’s done so for others, and perhaps he still will for me. But if he chooses not to, it means he has a more important road for me to travel. For some reason I cannot see, more growth, more opportunity, and more blessing exist on this particular road. I won’t lie, though. Some days, it feels like a rip-off.

Recently, I received an email from author Mary DeMuth. She included a list called Nine Daily Truths to Say to Yourself which I promptly hung on the bulletin board over my home desk. Four are particularly pertinent to me right now:

God delights in showing His strength in my weakness.

God is sovereign. Even when I don’t understand what He’s up to, I can be assured He’ll take my mess and bring redemption to it.

God gives me what I need each moment to succeed in this day.

God will take care of my needs whether I fear or not. I may as well trust Him.

I love Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Proverbs 3:5 & 6 in The Message: “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.”

I hope these truths will encourage you, too, on whatever road you find yourself and whatever rip-offs come your way today.