I’m not quite sure where to begin. You know those periods of life where you have a plan, but then life seems to have an entirely different one? Yeah, that just happened.
When I left you last, I had just come off of a heavy six week travel schedule and jumped immediately into last minute wedding prep for my oldest son. Then, disaster…
A couple of days before his marriage, my son’s back went out. It was so bad, he could barely stand through the ceremony with his new bride. As a mom, my heart cracked when streams of sweat poured off his face and tremors racked his body, as he struggled to stay on his feet. He was hunched over like a 100-year-old man.
What a horrible way to start such an important new chapter of your life — it seemed unfair. After the wedding, while my sweet daughter-in-love worked, my son needed someone to sit with him. This required strategic scheduling for various family members to spend the day. Watching my grown child grimace at the tiniest move added to the emotional weight I carried.
We prayed and prayed for his relief, however, as I’ve known for years, God’s timing isn’t mine. Faith isn’t about getting what you want, faith is about trusting even when you don’t. As the weeks wore on, our concerns raised. A month in, after multiple medical visits and attempts at treatment, no improvement. And the word surgery entered the conversation. But we barely had time to register the possibility before life tossed another curve ball our direction.
It was a Friday morning. Through a groggy mind, I realized I heard my husband in the shower. This may not be unusual for some, but in our household, I’m the morning bather, while he showers at night. But tired as I was, I drifted back to sleep. It didn’t take long for him to wake me up again, this time alarmed.
I heard my honey groan and say, “This is stupid.”
“Are you all right?” I half-heartedly asked.
“Not really. My chest hurts.”
I leaned up on an elbow as my pulse speeded up. “What do you mean your chest hurts? Are you having sharp pains? Do you feel anything in either of your arms?”
“I don’t know. I mean, it’s like there’s pressure, but every once in a while I feel a sharper pain. And my left arm hurts. I probably pulled something when I was carrying my boat batteries yesterday. Do we have any aspirin?”
“Yes!” I ran to the kitchen and grabbed three baby aspirin out of the cabinet so he could chew and swallow them. “We’re going to the hospital.”
When he didn’t argue, I knew something was seriously wrong.
At the hospital, though his EKG came back normal, his blood work did not. His heart enzymes were extremely high. We were quickly sent to a larger facility in St. Louis and during a heart cath, the cardiologist discovered one are of an artery with 95% blockage, with 40% in another. The heart muscle was damaged, but thankfully, only moderately so. According to the medical team, those three baby aspirin may have kept his heart attack from mushrooming into a major or even fatal event.
Two days later, he was home recovering, so I prepared to get back into the routine of helping sit with our son while I worked around it. Until the next thing happened.
My eye disease flared up not once, but twice in two weeks. Though I was fighting it, discouragement began to gain ground.
At my lowest point, I questioned whether I could or should continue pursuing the writing and speaking career I loved — and felt called to. But God stepped in with a surprising encouragement.
My phone rang and a voice on the other end identified herself as a woman who had heard me speak during my crazy busy travel weeks. Then she gushed, “I had to call and tell you that I just finished reading Getting Through What You Can’t Get Over, and it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. I feel like I was supposed to thank you for using your talents to help other people.”
Since the beginning of the year, a lot has happened. But as I’d learned in the past, I chose to trust God while my emotions ran haywire. I do not regret that decision. He came through, as He always ultimately does.
- My son had his surgery last week, and though his recovery won’t come overnight, we already see dramatic improvements.
- My husband is doing great.
- And my eyes are back to normal.
Someone recently asked me if I would still praise God if things had turned out differently. I have to say, “Yes.”
I would grieve. Life would grind to a temporary halt. But I would still refuse my feelings the opportunity to supercede my faith.
Life may blindside me, and some of those events may cause delays, but I refuse to allow them to defeat me. I will continue to tell myself and others, “It’s never too late for a fresh start with fresh faith.”
Anita Fresh Faith
What necessitates your resolve to exercise faith over your fears?
Anita Brooks, CPT, CLTF, CCS, motivates others to dynamic break-throughs. Blending mind, heart, body, and spirit, as an Inspirational Business/Life Coach, International Speaker, and Common Trauma Expert. She shares hope and encouragement on the stage and from the page — reminding 21st century audiences, “It’s never too late for a fresh start with fresh faith.”
Anita is also a multi-published, award-winning author. Her most recent titles include Readers’ Favorite International and Florida Authors and Publisher’s Association Award Winner: Getting Through What You Can’t Get Over, Barbour Publishing, and Death Defied-Life Defined: A Miracle Man’s Memoir, Clovercroft Publishing. All of her titles are available at major and independent bookstores as well as from online retailers.
Anita is quoted as saying, “Reading is my obsession while writing is my compulsion.” Anita’s passion is inspiring others to transform life’s battles into lasting victories, a superior quality of life, and an abundant purpose.
For pure pleasure, Anita’s favorite pastime is watching sunsets with her husband of thirty-three years, while they laugh and dip their toes in a Missouri river or lake. She adores her grandchildren, but she also wants to hear about those you love.
Follow Anita’s Fresh Faith Inspirations, to get your weekly dose of hope and encouragement. You can connect with Anita on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Periscope, and Twitter. Email anita@anitabrooks.com to request information on having Anita inspirationally speak or train at your next event.
I’m in my fourth state in five weeks as I write this, Kentucky currently. And I just finished facilitating/speaking at back to back leadership retreats — both for the hospitality/resort/recreation industry. But no matter what type of business, organization, association, or other group I speak to, I always come away reminded of one thing…
What are our anchors? What things in our lives do we need ot release that we think are holding us steady? Jobs, money, relationships?
I’m on a whirlwind travel schedule as I write this. Five states in seven weeks. Crazy, I know.
One of the lessons I’ve learned through my own journey is the power of accepting the dare. Choosing to believe your dreams might be possible — even if only by a whisper-thin thread. Faith in action, by making one daily decision at a time that moves you closer to discovering and then living in, that special something you were created to do. Daring to trust that the gutteral moan inside your soul, telling you there is something more yet to be discovered, is the truth.
My first suggestion is to listen to your soul’s whispers.
