My Unexpected Journey

Life is a process.  There is both a beginning and an ending to one’s life.  As one person has described it, “life is not a destination but a journey”.  During one’s journey there will be both high-points and low-points.  One’s life will experience both expected and unexpected journeys.  How we relate to these events determines much of what our lives will become and accomplish, how we feel about ourselves, others, and how we feel about our faith in God.  Do we or don’t we believe?  It will measure your trust quotient.

The expected in life includes such things as birth, death, immunizations, taking in nourishment, chickenpox, taking a bath and brushing your teeth, school, owning a home, employment and career, family, buying things, paying bills, hobbies, etc.  The unexpected is usually where problems come into play, such as financial problems (bankruptcy), relationship problems (divorce, remarriage, abortion), personal problems (guilt, anger, depression, codependency), job problems (pink slip, promotion), and most of all, unforeseen health problems (cancer, blood pressure, surgery, disease).  We are never immune from the above.  For such is life!

The focus of My Unexpected Journey is on health issues I was forced to face in the prime time of my life and ministry.  I suffered a massive stroke and heart attack which took me by complete surprise.  Doctors did not expect me to live or leave the hospital.  They said if I survived “I would at best be a vegetable for the rest of my life”.  Additional complications over the next couple of years would include seizures and auto-immune disorders.  I also received a pace-maker.  Returning to ministry seemed impossible.  The questions staring me in the face were “what am I going to do now?; how will I pay the bills and provide for my family?; Would I be a survivor or another statistic?”  

In the book the focus is on my health issues, doctors, rehabilitation, and where things stand today (How am I doing?  What am I doing? How did I get there? How has my journey changed my life? What affect has it had on my faith and belief about God?).  It has definitely made me stronger!  I’ve always believed that God specializes in the impossible, but when you’re on the receiving end as I was, it raises the bar a notch.

For me, my journey meant adjusting to a new normal, as my life would be forever   changed.  At first my thought was “I don’t belong here!”.  Soon I came to realize the fact that I’m no different than anybody else.  As I prayed and read the Bible I found that every bible character (Adam, Abraham, Noah, Joseph, Moses, David, Job, Esther, Mary, Paul, etc.) traveled the road of unexpected journeys just like I had.  During my journey, I discovered biblical principles which can help us grow during these difficult times and claim victory.  The most important lesson I learned was the fact that God wasn’t finished with me yet.  As well as one’s attitude will determine one’s altitude.  I also learned the value and importance of getting one’s life in order (something most people tend to put off or never get around to).  When we “fail to plan, then we are planning to fail”.

Something else I discuss is the fact that with unexpected journeys there are choices one has to make.  Such as, am I going to Give Up? (the easy way out) or Grow Up (the best way out)?  Am I going to be Bitter or Better?  Am I going to choose to be a whiner or a winner?  Am I going to view tough times as an obstacle or an opportunity?  Am I going to live above or beneath my circumstances?  My discovery was the fact that the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans chapter 8:28 are true, “And we know that God causes everything (positive, negative, good or bad, no matter what we‘re faced with in life) to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them”.  He goes on to tell us in Verse 31, “If God is for us, who can be against us”.  And in Verse 35, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?”; Verse 37, “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us”.  We are more than conquerors!  Verse 38, “nothing can ever separate us from His love”.

My unexpected journey has convinced me that God is for real, not that I ever doubted, and His love for us cannot be fathomed by the human mind.  He loves us with an “everlasting love” and we truly do matter to Him.  He not only gave His all with the agonizing death of His Son on the cross. But He continues to give His all for us everyday and performs miracles today because of His amazing grace.  Without Him this book would never have been written.  All that people would know about me is what others might say, and a gravestone in a cemetery in northern Illinois which has my name on it, the dates of my birth and death with a dash in between.  If I were to choose a saying or quote for my grave marker it would read, “To God be the glory, Great things He has done, Great things He can still do, just as He did for Me, He can do for you”.

My Unexpected Journey is a book about health, help, healing, happiness and hope.  It’s a book about personal problems and powerful solutions; messes and miracles; medication and meditation This book presents the fact that God is not absent, but aware and desires to be actively involved in our lives.  He is in the restoration and renewal business, not only in this life we live on earth, but for all eternity.  His desire is to make “all things new”.