Have you ever wondered how it is that every day people are able do impossible things? We’ve all heard the stories of people who perform superhuman feats of strength in times of crisis. Many of them center around someone lifting a car off someone else, usually a child or a friend.
We’ve all known people who seem to be able to handle any crisis that life sends their way, time after time after time. We wonder how they have the stamina to continue. Where do they find the resilience?
Then there are those individuals who take on responsibilities or tasks that they never thought they could do, and they handle it with competence and grace. What is their secret?
Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Throughout most of my adult life, I avoided anything that looked like medical caregiving. Blood and wounds and other nasty things simply weren’t in my comfort zone. Over my objections, God determined that I should become a fulltime caregiver for nearly a year. My husband was diagnosed with head and neck cancer, and our journey began.
The next 8 months of our life consisted of doctor appointments, lab appointments, chemo treatments, radiation treatments, emergency hospital visits, prescription drugs, creating nutrient rich tube feed recipes, and did I mention camping out at the hospital for numerous surgeries, procedures, and recovery times? As I look back over that period, I even wonder how I did it!
Dave could not swallow and had a permanent GI tube into his stomach after the first surgery. This required care, in addition to creating and administering tube feedings every four hours. As the tumor began to grow again, it began to affect his breathing. For the last three months, he also had a permanent tracheostomy so that he could breathe, requiring trach care routines every morning and suctioning as frequently as he needed help clearing his lungs.
Let me say that I am no nurse! I’ve had no medical training, but God saw fit to put me in a position where much was required of me that was beyond my realm of experience or knowledge. I found that other people looked at me and wondered, “How does she do that?” I share all of that only to say that sometimes life demands of us what seems impossible.
Because of that season of my life, I’ve learned some very important lessons. All of us are just normal people who do what we have to do in order to deal with life. None of us is anything remarkable in our own right. It’s God who gives the grace we need when we need it. We don’t go around doing amazing superhuman things in our daily lives. We all just live and manage what comes into our lives. God didn’t allow that whole load to be added to me all at once! He allowed us to add one piece of equipment at a time, one medication at a time, learn one care process at a time. And in each step, He gave grace to accomplish it.
What IS superhuman is the grace that God gives when He calls us to walk through something way beyond our normal ability. He doesn’t give it ahead of time because we don’t need it then. He’s never late with giving grace either. We can count on His grace being there in our time of deepest need when we simply could not manage on our own.
That’s how humans become superhumans! They press into God and ask for grace and abilities and empowering that they don’t normally have. God answers the call of their heart and provides the strength they need in that moment.
Maybe you are struggling with something that overwhelms you and requires much more than you think you have. God has promised grace to you and will strengthen and sustain you through this challenge. When you look to Him, you will find grace to carry you through whatever is facing you. His promise is a solid foundation on which you can plant your faith.
Be encouraged that He will enable you to walk through any circumstance He allows into your life. Not only will you walk through it, but you will come out on the other side of the valley a much stronger individual with a much deeper faith. Turn your heart towards Him and ask for the grace you need!
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified …
for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
As always, your comments are welcome, and you can reach me via email at sheryl@freshhope.us. Remember to subscribe so you receive notice of new posts.
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1 Comment
You accomplished amazing things during your husband’s illness. You were such a blessing to him. When my husband was sick I did things I never thought I could (or would) do ~ draining a lung on a regular basis was way above anything I knew about healthcare! Towards the end of his battle we went to a hospice facility where we hoped they could do a better job of caring for him. That was a large disappointment. I am now in a Grief Support group at our church ~ something that two women who lost their husbands trained for as there was not such a group here at that time. Bless them greatly as the group met last week for the first time. We had about 15 women and 1 gentleman who lost his wife of 67 years and has no idea how to move forward (nor would I). It will be a big help to many ~ I am going to learn what to do with my feelings of anger and resentment towards the hospice facility and the care he initially received from the VA (we left the VA doctors for an oncologist my husband had 10 years ago but had lost valuable time treating the disease by listening to what the VA said and did). I know it is something I will learn how to handle but it is heartbreaking and the anger is not good for me or anyone. I so appreciate the things I learn from what you share! Thank you.