Last month I read a book by Dennis Rainey called “Stepping Up, A Call to Courageous Manhood.” It’s an outstanding book, and one of the quotes from the book really resonated with me. Dennis said “I believe there’s something in the chest of a man that responds in a unique way to stories of courage. There’s a piece of every man’s heart that longs to be courageous, to be bold and gutsy and etch a masculine mark of bravery on the human landscape.” He goes on to describe men who “accomplished great things despite obstacles and indescribable hardship.” When I started this BLOG a couple weeks ago, I considered the journey in front of me, the obstacles and indescribable hardships that potentially lay along that pathway, and knew that courage would be a major factor in that battle.
HOWEVER, I really need to give credit where credit is due. My daily courage and strength has always (and will continue to) come from God. This cancer battle started 2 ½ years ago, and it’s really been a journey of another phase of trusting in God. When I stop and consider the miraculous recovery I had after the 2008 surgery, I can’t help but give God the glory, and remind everyone that I know God and He knows me, and that He is the source of my strength, my peace, and my trust in Him is complete and without reservation, and not dependent on the outcome of my circumstances.
Bottom line – it’s not about me, it’s all about God, how He redeemed my soul, turned me around 31 years ago, and continues to hold me in the palm of His hand. One of my favorite passages in the bible is from the book of Proverbs, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” So, this journey is not really "A Courageous Journey", it’s really an ongoing journey of "Trusting in the Lord" completely, and acknowledging Him. How do you trust God with all your heart? You must first acknowledge who God is. In the book of Genesis, God referred to Himself as "I AM". Essentially, God is everything that we need - our Father, our redeemer, our saviour, our provider, our banner, our peace, our shepherd, ... the list is endless - He's all we need, or more specifically, He is all I need, and my trust is completely in Him.
UPDATE: Today was my first day of chemo-therapy. It was an 8 hour day of treatment and lab work, no issues, no concerns, no problems. Hopefully I'll be able to run the 5 mile race Saturday morning in Garden of the Gods. There will be a lot of hills, and I've been "slacking off" my training program for the last 2 weeks with these 2 surgeries and medical appointments. This might not be one of my personal-best running times, I'll let y'all know how I do J
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