The real danger is not in facing the enemy; it’s in failing to trust in the Lord.

Note written in my Bible margin

This year has been a rough one. It started with John having ankle surgery, which was an ordeal in itself, but the surgery site then became grossly infected. After that, he felt as if the screw that was put in his ankle was sticking out from the bottom of his foot. At each follow-up doctor appointment, the x-rays showed differently, yet John still felt there was a knot there making it uncomfortable to walk. During one appointment, the doctor finally looked at the bottom of the foot instead of trusting the x-ray. There was a wart there! Another appointment was scheduled to remove it. In the meantime, we had heard from a friend and had seen on the internet that duct tape will remove the wart. This remedy is called “duct tape occlusion” in which duct tape is placed on the wart to cover it. The tape is to be replaced every three to five days and should, in time, remove the wart layer by layer. John tried this in the weeks before the removal appointment. When he went in to have the wart removed, there was barely anything to remove! John mentioned to the doctor that he had used duct tape on the bottom of the foot and that it had possibly helped dry it up. John said the look on the doctor’s face was priceless. We’re guessing this method wasn’t anywhere in the medical books and he wasn’t amused. We were, though. Haha. The wart is 90% better and the ankle is still healing.

The Alpha-stim apparatus is helping with an overall feeling of well-being, but it hasn’t helped with his chronic migraines. John tried Aimovig for six months and after that, he tried Ajovy injections which were done at home once a month for six months with no real improvement. Yesterday, he had an appointment with his neurologist to receive botox injections (or “snake poison”, John says). Research has shown it to be effective in relieving migraines for some patients. The doctor gave him a shot in the arm of Toradol to help with the migraine he had yesterday and then proceeded with thirty-one injections around his shoulders and neck, in his skull, and in his forehead. He feels a bit numb today but was told that this is normal. He will receive another set of injections in twelve weeks. He may not see any improvement for a few months or even after a few treatments, but he is willing to try. He has been battling migraines for at least thirty years. Surely, there is something out there to help.

Recently, John and Jonathan were in a car accident. Jonathan was driving and had stopped at a stop sign. The men looked both ways and saw no one coming, so Jonathan pulled forward. From the right, a woman driving a small car (who had the right away) slammed into the front right side of the car, smashing the headlight and denting the door a little. There was a line of cars parked to the right on the side of the road making it impossible to see the car coming. No one was hurt, thankfully. We can still drive the car, but we are careful to not drive too much. Repair work is scheduled for the end of December.

My blood pressure is still a bit too high even with increased medication, but I am still feeling better and have more energy than I did at the beginning of the year.

After the year we’ve had, we feel like we’ve been facing the enemy – discouragement. It really has been one thing or another which has tested the belief that “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). I know we are not the only ones who have had a rough year. I have close friends and family who have had major life changes this year due to health issues, the loss of a family member, financial struggles, and other concerns. The real danger though isn’t Satan who tells us God does not care and is not interested in our trials. The Bible tells us that Christians are not exempt from adversity in Matthew 5:45 – “he [God] maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust”. Forgetting that God has not forsaken us and failing to trust Him to carry us through life is the real danger.

I will close with a few more words and include my stray gifts and in another post. The title of this blog entry is entitled, “The Real Danger”. When I opened my Bible last week to listen to a sermon on Psalm 11, I saw my handwritten note from some time ago which said, “The real danger is not in facing the enemy; it’s in failing to trust in the Lord.” It hit me hard and is something I’ve been thinking about all week. And while the sermon was in Psalm 11, underlined verses from Psalm 9 caught my eye on the left page of my Bible. We have felt discouraged. We have struggled with health issues, finances, and trials. But deep down, we know the truth that God does not forsake His own and I am thankful for the reminders in various ways to keep seeking Him in times of trouble.

“The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” Psalm 9:9-10