He Still Moves Stones!

The incident described in today’s devotional happened almost four years ago. My greatest fear of bleeding inside my skull never happened. However, my two upper central incisors were pushed up into the gum, and they had to be pulled down and restored with a root canal procedure and by repairing the broken ends.

It is said that majority of the things that we worry about will never happen and of the ones that do happen, very few have any real impact on us. Still we continue to worry.

Going through a medical malpractice suit during my fourth decade of practicing surgery in our small community was not easy. But then I met the mature and pleasant attorney that my insurance company had assigned to me. At the end of our initial session, he advised me, “Don’t worry. I will let you know if/when to worry.” I trusted him, and I didn’t have to worry throughout the more than two years that the case dragged through the legal system, went to trial, and ended with a verdict in my favor.

If I can put my trust in my attorney, can’t I do the same with the one who told me in Matthew 6:34, “Do not worry about tomorrow”? Experience is the best teacher. Reflecting on past experiences where the Lord carried me through tough situations has taught me to trust God more and more.

When my wife and I retired from many years of medical practice, our plan was to go for short international medical missions. We did several trips to Kenya and Zambia with a medical mission. They were rewarding and fulfilling experiences. Unfortunately we could not continue for long due to health issues and some security issues in Africa.

Recently my routine checkup and lab tests led to a diagnosis of prostate cancer. I surprised myself by not getting too upset about the diagnosis and sought out prayer support by family and friends from near and far, including you, my Upper Room Family. This brought tremendous courage and peace to me. During worship service on the Sunday before my surgery, the congregation prayed for me. Our Sunday school class prayed over me, my surgeon and the surgical team. And the “stone” was rolled away!

God is still writing my story, and I am eager to read the next chapter.

I have had a long-time desire to pay tribute to the many “angels with no wings” who have influenced me in life. That goal came to fruition with the publication of my first book, I Don’t Want My Mom to Pray for Me. And as another way to pay tribute to others, Orphans Of Mundakapadam, my second book, is the biography of an orphan brother and sister who dedicated their lives to serving the poor and needy in their village in South India. They were my father-in-law’s siblings. All the revenue from the sale of these books go to benefit the charitable society they started.