Since brain surgery I have struggled to walk freely. I am currently in vestibular therapy to help with my balance. My therapist explained that I need what they refer to as grounding. I need to have something to lean on or hold onto and brace myself for my brain to feel secure. That is why I use a walker to get around. Being grounded is a BIG deal for me. The walker (I call him Herschel) provides security from falling. If I was a Weeble it would be no problem. If you remember, Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.
When in the hospital, the nurses put a note on my chart and a sign on the wall that I am a fall risk. My brother wondered about the other times of the year. From a theological stand point, we are all fall risks. That is one risk that you don’t want to take lightly. Being properly grounded can make a big difference. Knowing who or what we can lean on when life’s adversities throw us off balance is just as important as falling on your caboose.
Being grounded can coincide with being humbled. Being active my whole life then suddenly requiring aids to help me move around is humbling. I am very thankful to have those aids for without them, my life would be a lot more complicated and depressing. I have to be willing to acknowledge that I need the aids first. I have to be willing to listen to my therapists to learn how to move properly. I have to practice the exercises they give me daily. I am not a perfect patient. I get complacent, distracted, fatigued and I sometimes forget which exercises to do and how to do them properly. I fail repeatedly.
As a religious person, I have learned to lean on Jesus Christ for security much like I lean on Herschel my walker. There are daily frustrations that I admittedly don’t always handle the best, but I know that God is never going to abandon me. I have to learn to trust Him. I would rather live with all my pain and challenges with God, then to be pain free and separated from him.
Being sick with the brain tumor, life came to a complete stand still. Nothing else mattered except getting through each moment of the day. I was on the edge. I was ready to die. When meeting with the neurosurgeon prior to surgery, he basically gave us two choices, have the surgery or not. The surgery itself was very complicated and presented a host of not so pleasant risks including death. Not having the surgery, meant an excruciating certain death. On the day of my surgery, after saying goodbye to my wife, I focused on communing with God as they wheeled me back to the operating room. I wasn’t thinking about anything or anyone else. It was do or die time. I thanked Him for my life. I prayed that He be with the surgeons and guide them. I prayed that He comforted my wife and family no matter what happened. Interestingly, I was totally at peace. I was content in the loving arms of our Lord. I was not alone. I never have been. My wife confessed that she too was washed over with a sense of calm and peace as she made her way to the waiting room.
God has a way of getting your attention. On numerous occasions he got mine. It may not always have been the way that I would have chosen, but it was admittedly probably the most effective. We can easily succumb to the danger of crowding God out of our life. When you are humbled, you have more of a tendency to call on God for help, otherwise we tend to be complacent and apathetic. He humbled me and brought me to a place that made me reach out for him and earnestly search for understanding. Through that process, I have learned more than perhaps I ever would have known had I stayed in the place I had always been. I was desperate for help and God provided the tools necessary. I have sought out and found help through scripture reading, podcasts, devotionals and the wisdom of fellow believers.
How well grounded are you? From personal fears such as medical diagnosis to family issues to career and money woes to social, environmental and geo political concerns we are all constantly faced with problems. When the storms of life blow, how well grounded are you? Will you stand strong, wobble like a Weeble or completely crumble.
“Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.”
Jude 1:24 NLT
“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”
Psalms 62:1-2 NIV
Copyright © Brian Dietz
When in the hospital, the nurses put a note on my chart and a sign on the wall that I am a fall risk. My brother wondered about the other times of the year. From a theological stand point, we are all fall risks. That is one risk that you don’t want to take lightly. Being properly grounded can make a big difference. Knowing who or what we can lean on when life’s adversities throw us off balance is just as important as falling on your caboose.
Being grounded can coincide with being humbled. Being active my whole life then suddenly requiring aids to help me move around is humbling. I am very thankful to have those aids for without them, my life would be a lot more complicated and depressing. I have to be willing to acknowledge that I need the aids first. I have to be willing to listen to my therapists to learn how to move properly. I have to practice the exercises they give me daily. I am not a perfect patient. I get complacent, distracted, fatigued and I sometimes forget which exercises to do and how to do them properly. I fail repeatedly.
As a religious person, I have learned to lean on Jesus Christ for security much like I lean on Herschel my walker. There are daily frustrations that I admittedly don’t always handle the best, but I know that God is never going to abandon me. I have to learn to trust Him. I would rather live with all my pain and challenges with God, then to be pain free and separated from him.
Being sick with the brain tumor, life came to a complete stand still. Nothing else mattered except getting through each moment of the day. I was on the edge. I was ready to die. When meeting with the neurosurgeon prior to surgery, he basically gave us two choices, have the surgery or not. The surgery itself was very complicated and presented a host of not so pleasant risks including death. Not having the surgery, meant an excruciating certain death. On the day of my surgery, after saying goodbye to my wife, I focused on communing with God as they wheeled me back to the operating room. I wasn’t thinking about anything or anyone else. It was do or die time. I thanked Him for my life. I prayed that He be with the surgeons and guide them. I prayed that He comforted my wife and family no matter what happened. Interestingly, I was totally at peace. I was content in the loving arms of our Lord. I was not alone. I never have been. My wife confessed that she too was washed over with a sense of calm and peace as she made her way to the waiting room.
God has a way of getting your attention. On numerous occasions he got mine. It may not always have been the way that I would have chosen, but it was admittedly probably the most effective. We can easily succumb to the danger of crowding God out of our life. When you are humbled, you have more of a tendency to call on God for help, otherwise we tend to be complacent and apathetic. He humbled me and brought me to a place that made me reach out for him and earnestly search for understanding. Through that process, I have learned more than perhaps I ever would have known had I stayed in the place I had always been. I was desperate for help and God provided the tools necessary. I have sought out and found help through scripture reading, podcasts, devotionals and the wisdom of fellow believers.
How well grounded are you? From personal fears such as medical diagnosis to family issues to career and money woes to social, environmental and geo political concerns we are all constantly faced with problems. When the storms of life blow, how well grounded are you? Will you stand strong, wobble like a Weeble or completely crumble.
“Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.”
Jude 1:24 NLT
“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”
Psalms 62:1-2 NIV
Copyright © Brian Dietz
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