Does God Give Us More Than We Can Handle?

You bet there are times when the path is not so clear 

I was reading an article which will be posted soon at http://www.meierclinics.com  by Angie Witman titled Does God Give Us More Than We Can Handle?  in Meier Newsletters in June 2012. What a great subject to think about. When I was in the hospital and I had tubes coming and going all over the place, I had my first full blown panic attack. It was soon after my guardian angel went home after a long day caring for me in a very bad day in my life. That day I was given really great care that from my point of view that saved my life. Barb thinks I was going to pull through and what I felt wasn't was going on and she is probably right. Barb was wore out and needed to go home.

She had been gone about 30 to 45 minutes when I experienced hallucinations from pain medications and I felt like I couldn’t get my breath. Forget closing my eyes the hallucinations were too real and scary for me to do that. So I called for the nurse and to my surprise the nurse was Philippine and had a hard time speaking English. Well I was tempted to call Barb an experienced intensive care nurse, but she was worn out. I have lived overseas and I have been in tight spots before, but this was different. I was different. Years ago I helped others with panic attacks, but I had no idea this is what it really felt like. I tried working through it with the nurse, but I was unsuccessful. It was a nightmare.

I was really sick, but there was nothing I could do about it. The hallucinations and panic attack I would have to endure with being very sick. I knew I would have to go through these things and prayer, medical help, support would have to wait. We go through hard times and there is no easy fix. The hallucinations stopped when I changed pain medication. I could live with the pain, but not the hallucinations. It took seven weeks to recover from the surgery not two days. The insomnia, panic attacks and depression would be cared for five years later. In my journey back to better health I have learned a lot. Walking and diet gave me back my life.

I knew God was with me that terrible night and I sensed His love, but that didn’t change that I would have to endure some pretty bad stuff. When I speak of prayer I mean there was nothing I could pray that would prevent the things I experienced. Here I am years later and the problems of that night have been cared for. The anxiety disorder runs in my family. Depression happened and I believe has a biological reason. I needed professional help like I did when a third of my colon burst.

These things scared me like I never experienced before. Bravery, courage, I have seen in others, but for me I was like the kid shell shocked and unable to move. When I watched the Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Pearl Harbor and Saving Private Ryan I saw the nightmare of war and how everybody from the one who did acts of valor and the one who froze as a way to survive the hell of war. I have seen the same thing from regular people who go through medical and emotional injuries who have experienced feelings of loss, loneliness, hurt and fear as they go through their own nightmares from trials common to us all. It is times like this I wish I was a better writer, but Does God Give Us More Than We Can Handle?  Yes and no, we are certainly going to go through more than I retirement picture of a couple walking along in a beach. We will certainly experience whatever will end our life on earth.

For me, I have a greater understanding of others suffering. I know we need each other to ease our trials and find hope in the land of the living. When we are in the middle of a fight for life we may feel the weight of it. We may feel we are going through it alone. But in the darkness of that hour you are not alone.  I leave you with Ps. 27: 13, 14 “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”  Read the Psalm I think you will be encouraged.

I would love to hear what you think about Does God Give Us More Than We Can Handle?  These experiences can shake our very foundations. I liken it to battle experiences and each one of us it is different. Give it some thought and get back to me on it. Keep walking