I Am Not Alone

I Am Not Alone- Ever since I had the stroke,and especially when my emotions
are running high, too often I have felt like I am struggling through this
all on my own. But, of course, that simply is not true.

First of all, Jesus is always with me. He promised to never leave or forsake
me. No matter how I am feeling and no matter if I feel His presence or not,
I know that He is always there. When I need a shoulder to cry on, He
provides the shoulder. And when I just need somebody to talk to, He is
always there. He knows my thoughts so I don't have to be able to vocalize
them. When my emotions are not in a good place, I admit that I sometimes (inaccurately)
feel like people are neglecting me. However, no matter what people do or
don't do, Jesus will never neglect me. Even in those times that I need to be
chastised.

But Jesus is not going to dress or feed me or take care of my other physical
needs. For that I need the nurses. Over the years,
different ones have come and gone, but there has always been nurses there to give
me the care that I need. But they are more than just my caregivers. Because
I can communicate better with them than with other people, we sometimes just
chat about this or that. Admittedly, at times, we get downright silly.
However, it helps us all to get through our days.

Then there is is my church family. I go to a small church so we are pretty
much like a family. The pastor I have now is my third one and I am indebted
to all of them for helping me to get thoroughly grounded in the Word of God
(Bible). It means a lot to me when the church as a whole prays for my
healing. Sure, I can pray for my own healing and, sure, different
individuals pray for me but it is still always special to be prayed for by
the entire church. Being at church is important to me so I appreciate that,
if at all possible, they find a way to get me there.

I suspect that everyone has a few friends that a closer to them than other friends. I am no different. Specifically, when I was going through the tests for cancer, I had a friend go to all the tests with me. I am more at peace with the cancer now, but back then I sure appreciated, and needed the support. Besides, she can use my speech board with ease and that was a big help. I also have to mention the man who looks after my finances. We have been friends for years and I know that he has spent a lot of time trying to sort out my financial issues. Others have been coming faithfully year after year whether to give me a bath or to read to me, or sometimes to take me out.

I may not have personal contact with them but people, friends or relatives, who regularly send me e-mails are an important part of my life. They probably don't know that when I am having a bad day, getting an e-mail from them can perk me up. Not to mention that answering them helps to pass time.

The group of people that are really, really important in my life are people that are praying for me. A lot of them I know about,  but probably not all of them. Every so often, I feel a rush of heat through my body. In those moments I like to think that somebody is praying for me. Maybe, maybe not. But I do know that prayer makes a difference.

Even though, at times, I feel really alone, writing this blog made me realize am not as alone as I sometimes feel.