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A New Perspective

Dealing with a serious illness day in and day out puts things in a different perspective.  

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..” 
― John Milton, Paradise Lost

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ALS is a Marathon

4/7/2013

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"We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
                                                                                                                                       -  Romans 5: 3-5

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We did it!
A friend encouraged me to run a half-marathon with her last year.  In the anticipation of growing closer as we trained together I said , "yes".  While I like exercising, I really don't like running especially for thirteen miles!  We started preparing for the race about ten weeks ahead of time and I quickly realized I was a bit nuts for undertaking this challenge!  Those first few training runs weren't bad but as the distances got longer, the suffering began.  Since I had a friend training with me, I was motivated to persevere thanks to her encouragement.  That perseverance led to the escalation of self-discipline.  Adhering to a strict training schedule enabled us to run ten miles a few days before the race but we never ran thirteen miles until the day of the race.  As I ran those last few miles on the day of the race, I never lost hope that I could finish.  My friend was there to cross the finish line with me encouraging me every step of the way. 

Isn't that how the Holy Spirit is?  He is there every step of the way encouraging us to finish the race and guiding our steps if we let him.  As I ran, I was thinking about Akhil who was at home unable to walk let alone run.  This battle with ALS is a long, slow marathon.  I believe God spent the last several years of my life preparing me to run this race with Akhil.  Thanks to Jordan’s encouragement and the formation of the Sunshine Girls, I spent a lot of time stepping outside my comfort zone as I served others.   Little did I know that all that stretching and growing was preparing me for the biggest service project of my life that would occur within my own home.  I volunteered at least twice a month in a retirement home where I planned parties for every holiday for them and other fun events.  Most of the residents were in wheelchairs and had some level of dementia.  In spite of the limitations, the residents loved the celebrations we had together and enthusiastically participated in whatever crazy activities I would plan.  That experience developed compassion in me for people with physical limitations recognizing that all life has value.  I spent time volunteering in homeless shelters, sometimes weekly, serving those who couldn't serve themselves.  That experience made me realize that sometimes people just need a helping hand and encouraging word to keep them going.  I started a weekly youth ministry program in my Dallas neighborhood to get kids fired up about living a life for Christ through service and actions.  Little did I know that I was actually preparing myself to be fired up when Christ called me to serve my husband.

It is amazing how God prepares us for what He eventually will call us to do.  Ten years ago, I would not have been equipped to handle the challenge of ALS but today I am both mentally and physically prepared.  I didn’t know it at the time but I have spent years training for this marathon.  In July of 2011, the starting gun was fired for our race.  The Holy Spirit guides our steps through each day.   I can't see which mile we are on but I am filled with hope that we will persevere and finish well. 


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The Storm

2/25/2013

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I was invited to speak last Sunday at a friend's church.  After much contemplation and a few revisions, I felt led to focus on Mark 4:35-41 "The Storm".  I incorporated the video "Beautiful" into my presentation so the first segment may look familiar to you!  It includes the audio portion of my introduction followed by the "Beautiful" video.
Due to YouTube limitations, the presentation had to be broken down into three segments.  So, if you are interested, listen to them in order.  
I hope you enjoy my application of "The Storm".  
Thank you  to my wonderful husband for having the foresight to record the audio and for putting in the time to create these videos.
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Living in Exile

2/8/2013

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Nov 2012 - A family photo shot by Carolyn Smith (Carolynsmithphotography.com)
Have you ever been in exile?  I don’t literally mean banished from your country but rather a forced removal from a place of comfort.  My family is in exile - the normalcy of family life has been stripped away from us as we struggle daily to deal with whatever new challenges Akhil’s ALS presents to us.  We can no longer take a family vacation; even getting Akhil in and out of the car is difficult so family outings are few and far between.  Life as we knew it is gone and we have been banished to a place filled with challenges.  It is not all bad though…

My pastor, Don Doe, preached a wonderfully relevant message last Sunday about the Israelites' time in exile.  God allowed his people to be taken into exile in Babylon so that they could experience some course correction.  God’s people needed to learn certain lessons that just weren’t going to get through in the comfort of where they were.

There are four lessons my pastor focused on that we can learn in exile that are tough to learn in carefree times.  We are in the process of learning all these lessons:

■  Learn to let go.  We cling so tightly to things, don’t we?  Whether it is a prized possession or a dream, we have a hard time letting go.  Sometimes we become so attached to our desires that we forget about seeking God’s desires for us.  When we are in exile, we let our dreams go but God’s dreams for us continue.  Sometimes we must go through a period of exile so God can redirect us from our desires for ourselves to His desires for us.

This is definitely not the life I dreamt about having.  At this point in my life, I thought I would be financially secure and able to travel the world as I prepared to be an empty-nester.  As it turns out, God’s plans for me are vastly different.  Instead, I am reliant on God for my security and my travels are limited to the confines of my mind.  As I let go of my dreams, I made room for God’s.  I am able to focus on what God is trying to teach me and how I need to grow.  Our purpose on earth is to be examples of Christ to the world.  While no one human can personify Christ, each of us can display certain of his attributes.  I look at this time as one of God developing in me traits of Christ for the world to see.  When this period of exile is over, whether it ends or my life ends, I will be a better person because of the journey I have taken and hopefully have given the world a glimpse of the God I know.

■ Find God in new ways.  Psalm 137:4 says, “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?”    In other words, how can I praise God when my husband has a terminal disease?  When we are plucked out of the comforts we have known, it can be challenging to praise God.   God has shown me sides of himself that I would not have known were it not for this struggle.  For example, I am able to feel loved by God through the outpouring of kindness of His people and I can praise God for that comfort.

■  Love in exile.  Jeremiah 29:7 “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.  Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  This says to me “Seek the peace and prosperity that you can only know because you are living with ALS.”  Some things we can only learn while in exile.  Lessons are not easily learned in times of freedom but only in times of struggling and suffering are we truly teachable.

■  What looks like the end to us is never the end to God.  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:10  God’s plans for us never change even as our circumstances change.  God has a reason for each of us to be here and that reason does not change.  What looks like the end of my dreams is simply the beginning of God’s.

If you find yourself in a place of exile, I hope you will acknowledge that God’s plan for you is amazing even though it may not be in alignment with your plan for you!  I am convinced that our family will do more for God’s kingdom through our journey with this disease than we could ever have hoped to achieve without it.


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    Laura Jhaveri

    Wife and mother coping with the daily struggles caring for a family with a serious affliction.

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