Alopecia | Be a light in the Dark, 2 Corinthians 4

The other day in reading during my quiet time, I was revisiting 2 Corinthians. I was thinking, Tim and I have spent many an hour thinking a lot, about a lot. There are so many ugly and awful things going on across the globe, and across our front door. Our mission field is in Northern MN with Native Americans. In this ministry, we have stumbled through some thick, difficult situations. I am certain you can all attest to difficult times being just that: difficult. The Lord doesn't bring us into circumstances just to drag us along, seeing us become battered and bruised, but it IS His priority to bring glory to His name. We are His chosen ones, and our privilege is to sing Hallelujah to His name!

Anyway, I was thinking that we have faced difficulties. One thing that I wanted to share with you today is about my health.

In 2014, I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder called Alopecia. This was saddening and drove me and Tim crazy for three years. One day, I found a bald spot on my head, and months later, I was completely bald. Through the first year, I had approximately nine zillion blood tests, several labs drawn, an MRI, and lots of consultations with Doctors of whatever kind. They looked at my hair loss, my Baker's Cyst, diagnosed me with more Eczema, Raynaud's disease, Scleroderma, and a positive ANA. A big fat bummer.

This was hard! But, now I have seen God's mercy on our family over and over again. And guess what else? We don't deserve His mercy. We don't deserve that gracious skipping over of a crude punishment. But, we have been blessed with the freedom to worship and adore this King of all Kings and we choose to do that very thing! Amidst trials and grief, we fall down and bow our heads to this master of creation. We bring Him praise for giving me life and that I can have a new and pain-free body again. I will be created anew in him, FOREVER! Hey!!! That's a mighty thing! Mightier than I've ever known!

THANK YOU LORD!

So, Tim and I get to stand idle in that thought now. We can choose to be frustrated that there is no cure to autoimmune issues, or I can pop on a super cute wig and feel pretty good, walk on my two fully-functioning legs and feet, see with my eagle eyes, and smell with my over-sensitive snout.

THANK YOU LORD.

And guess what else!? I have a husband who loves me, three sons and a daughter in my everyday who love me and I get to hold and hug and kiss anytime that I want to.

THANK YOU LORD.

Allllllll that to say: Read This! God gives us the life here on earth to minister in His name, and we need to let the LIGHT SHINE OUT OF US in the dark land of human sin. Using the Bible, HIS WORD, we can preach through our lives the glory of Christ. We can be His missionaries by the way we live!

 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."     

WOW!  2 Corinthians 4:1-7 is power-packed. His word is our greatest tool, an all-excellent resource for us, from Him.

THANK YOU LORD. 



Cody on the tube at Miller Lake

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