Comforted....

2 Corinthians 1:1-4
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

As I have journeyed through life, the years that the LORD has allowed me to be here, this I am confident about; I have received much comfort from the LORD. His expectation of me is to comfort others with the same comfort I have received.

I have celebrated the last two birthdays on a hospital bed; right after surgery in 2013 and during my last systemic chemo last year. I desired that this year would be different; the LORD is gracious it was. I was up and about and not in pain. To me, those are things that I no longer take lightly but become a reason for celebration. The celebrations began  two days before the day, my best friend and my aunt decided to give me a wonderful treat..shoes!!  You can be sure they gave me a reason to do a happy dance. On the actual day my hosts had a cozy party for me and a group of friends were with me to celebrate. God has a way of lavishing us with His love in ways we least expect, my host's wife and their 3 old son had spent many hours baking cookies, the son had even prayed the night before for God to help him make a nice card for me. The love of those friends filled my heart. 

In the midst of the celebration, I heard about a friend's friend friend( not a typo, that is how long the connection is..a friend to my friend's friend) had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer the previous week. My friend invited us to accompany him to the hospital to visit the friend's friend. Seven of us went; in India, such gestures are deeply appreciated. As we were going the hospital, I thought of the many people that came to see me in hospital when I was admitted, thought of the nurses who were attending to me during my chemo sessions and how they bought me chocolates and sung for me during my birthday last year. Beyond any reasonable doubt, I had been comforted by the LORD. We are still praying and trusting God to do what looks impossible to man.I don't believe there is any situation that is a hopeless case to the LORD.

A few hours ago I had an opportunity to visit a special needs school with another group of friends. As we sung and danced, it was such a delight to see the children happy and very eager to join in. I also saw parents come to pick their children and a particular parent got my attention, he has twins that are special needs children. As heavy as that cross is, I am certain God has a way of offering comfort him and his family.

It is so easy to think of oneself as the person going through a very rough patch, truth is ,there is always someone going through a more difficult situation. When we learn to get our eyes off ourselves we would be amazed at how our perspective to our situations would change.

So if today you are between a rock and a hard place, please find encouragement in knowing that God cares and He desires to comfort you so that you can comfort another. When you can't seem to see what's working, try and count your blessings. There is something about counting our blessings that helps us to see God's faithfulness in the past and offer us hope for the present and the future. Be on the look out for someone who needs your encouragement, in encouraging others you realize that you also receive encouragement.

In six days I will undergo the next round of treatment, the LORD has me in his hands and my heart is at rest. In the words of King David " LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure" Psalm 16:5. Momentary afflictions are part of the my lot but they shall not overwhelm me. I am endeavoring to comfort others with the comfort I have received.

Blessings to you and your loved ones!!

On my birthday 24th Feb,2015.