I keep thinking about the word eliminate. Having become so aware of what our kidneys do for us, I have a pretty clear understanding of this “process of elimination” that happens in our bodies with these amazing filters that God placed inside us. But I’ve also been thinking about other things that have been eliminated in my life over the years because these scrawny kidneys of mine don’t do what they want to do. My finger nails were pretty much wiped out but the irony is that this illness also makes you very, very itchy. Kind of cruel, don’t you think? I’ve eliminated eating large amounts of protein in my diet (which is probably a good thing to an extent).
Recently several wonderful friends have helped me eliminate some of the piles of stuff in my house. Others have helped me eliminate a good bit of the summertime dirt that filtered into my windows this year. All of these wonderful, practical ways of eliminating.
And then there’s Jaime, my dear friend and donor, who is eliminating a whole part of herself so that I can live. Yes, indeed, “greater love has no man than to lay down his life for a friend” has certainly come to life in my heart in a new way.
But then there are the more esoteric kinds of eliminating that can happen in our lives. My spiritual “dad” is encouraging me to eliminate the negative thinking that seems to easily beset me in nearly every place in my life. God is helping me to understand how to eliminate fear from my heart and trust Him that He has everything under control. Which then leads me to the idea of eliminating control issues in my life…now THAT would be quite an elimination, wouldn’t it?
So tomorrow I begin the journey in some very specific ways. Blood tests and physical examinations and the inevitable poking and prodding that comes with them will become a way of life for me for the next few weeks. So I must learn to eliminate a certain amount of prudishness and privacy that are pretty strong in my life and just try to sit back for the ride - a ride for my life.
Yet as I sit here at my computer on the eve of the beginning of this ride I hear this still, small Voice saying “Be still and know that I am God…” So I must eliminate all the squirming in my head, heart and soul so that I may know that stillness and peace.
Thanks for reading.
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