“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalms 27:1 KJV
Added September 2021…
The best Christian Wordsmith expresses God’s Gift of Strength like this:
“He is coming to know the fact that he was never his own strength, had never the smallest power in himself at his strongest. But he is learning also that he is as safe as ever in the time when he gloried in his might—yea, as safe as then he imagined himself on his false foundation. He lays hold of the true strength, makes it his by laying hold of it. He trusts in the unchangeable thing at the root of all his strength, which gave it all the truth it had—a truth far deeper than he knew, a reality unfathomable, though not of the nature he then fancied. Strength has ever to be made perfect in weakness, and old age is one of the weaknesses in which it is perfected.”
From Weighed and Wanting by George MacDonald
It was later in life that the revelation became clear to me that my strength would never be sufficient. Slowly I realized that it was always His Strength that helped me through the dark and painful times. The burden was lifted. Learning to let go and let Him lead me would take time. It has become a Daily Ritual!
Mom and Dad never talked about the accident or burn that happened when I was two months old. They sought the best medical care that could be found in America at the time. We traveled from Montana to the Mayo Clinic and to the Cleveland Clinic and finally sought the care of the only orthopedic surgeon in Florida. That was Dr. John Lovejoy of Hope Haven Hospital in Jacksonville.
Dad built my first ‘exercise bike’ when at five years old I had my first of many surgeries. Each day my therapy was to ride on that bike which had only a left pedal. That was designed to strengthen my left leg that was the most badly burned part of me. It probably was not an exercise that I would have chosen. Those long ago daily rides in the garage must have instilled in me a desire for the chemicals my body released during those work outs. Anyway that is how bike riding was implanted deep in my spirit. Other forms of exercise also appealed to me or anything that released those soaring chemicals.
Mom and Dad never talked about the ‘Burn Accident’. We just did what ever came next. When I was about forty or fifty Dad gave me a detailed record of what happened including all the surgeries. Those records remained unread until after Mom and Dad had died. They knew how GRATEFUL I was. There was no need to talk.
After Mom had died toward the end of his life Dad finally asked me, “ How did you do it?” I knew he was asking how I dealt with the burn, the surgeries and a life of pain. I answered, “God made me tough.” That was enough to satisfy him. Nothing more was said.
Nothing more needed to be said because he too knew that was true. He knew that the prayers of Drs. McGregor, the Sisters of Providence at Columbus Hospital, family and all who touched our lives had been answered. Their and other hands of touch and healing had worked miracles…
I knew that it was He who gave me Strength. It was His Gift. Let me continue to lean on Him!
Added on April 10, 2021…
Forever GRATEFUL to the Sisters of Providence and Drs. McGregor for laying their Healing Hands on my badly burned body 77 years ago in Montana…
So let me continue to seek His strength Daily…