No, this is not a sob story. This post was written not to elicit pity or compassion from the readers. Rather, this post was written to show the incomparable glory of God through His amazing grace in my life.
Thirty years ago, I was diagnosed to be suffering from hypertension. And twenty years ago, I was also diagnosed to be suffering from diabetes type 2 or diabetes miletus. At about the same time, I found out that I have a congenital scoliosis- a disease of the spinal column where there was an abnormal curvature of the lumbar section.
This last disease has caused me considerable pain all through these years and has time and again threatened me with complete paralysis of my lower body.
During those times, I found myself going in and out of work because of my sicknesses. Until I finally retired at a relatively young productive age since no company could tolerate my frequent absences due to constant illnesses.
My wife had to take on the role of bread winner of our family as I switched roles to be the caretaker of our children and our house. It was a bitter pill to swallow to a male ego, but I humbly accepted the reversed role that the Lord has given me and I concentrated on the spiritual upkeep of my family.
The Lord has showered us with tremendous blessings through my wife as she was promoted again and again. I was showered too with countless spiritual blessings as I ministered to the spiritual needs of the souls that the Lord has given to me.
Last year was the turning point in our lives. My wife decided to try her luck in the US to work, as our expenses simply outstripped her income. I used her medical insurance card to seek treatment from the best hospital in our country.
The doctors were astounded in what they saw. I was diagnosed to have a severe hernia and an enlarged prostate gland that both needed immediate surgery. Another doctor who x-rayed my back was taken aback by what she saw. My lumbar 5 bone had collapsed on my lumbar 4 bone in my spinal column. She also recommended immediate surgery. Yet another doctor diagnosed me with an enlarged thyroid gland and also recommended immediate surgery.
But the allowable amount in the medical insurance of my wife had all been used up and her insurance card had to be surrendered to her company so she could seek clearance for her resignation and travel to the US to work.
(End of Part 1)
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational
29 comments:
To All My Beloved Friends,
Thank you very much for standing by me in the most harrowing portion of my life. To those who want to know the details of my present struggles, praise the Lord that our province was spared the wrath of a super typhoon and two other typhoons that threatened our province and wrought so much havoc in other parts of our country. I pray that the Lord show kindness to the relatives of those who died and suffered material losses because of those typhoons and a mild earthquake that also passed by our country.
I had my own personal struggles after the typhoons as I was hit by an extreme deterioration of my scoliosis. While bending in our bathroom, I felt a sudden tear in my right thigh as though a dagger pierced through my flesh. I could no longer stand after that. For three agonizing days I laid on my bed suffering from stabbing pain on my right thigh. I have to take high dosed pain reliever every four hours just to survive those ordeals. I hardly slept at night as the cold further aggravated the pain. I was crying and moaning to the Lord to help me overcome the pain. There was even a moment that I thought I would be ending my life by stabbing myself to death, but as a Christian I knew that I will only suffer a worse form of pain and suffering if I did that. After three painful and sleepless nights, I woke up on the third day with no more pain in my thigh and back. I am now strong enough to seek help from a professional physical therapist, but through it all, I knew God stood by me and delivered me from that nerve and body wrenching experience. To God be the glory. I love you all with the love of the Lord and I am always praying for your blessings. Have a nice and wonderful day to all.
hi mel, i thank God for you and that you're back online. may God's healing continue to be manifested throughout your whole body. only God knows why we each go thru what we do, but thru it all we continue to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts, leaning not to our own understanding, and as we continue to acknowledge Him in all of our ways, He will continue to direct our paths.
i'm glad you were spared from the typhoon, and i'm likewise sorry about the loss of lives and devastation for those who were not spared from it. May God continue to keep you safe from all harm, hurt, and danger. we thank God that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. take care, my friend, and God's continued healings, peace and blessings be upon you, your family & your country.
p.s. i'm so glad to see you back. we all are.
Hi MEL...
Thanks for this posting informing about the real situation what's going on in your place and I'm speechless but I might say that you are a brave man and I know that God always stand by you and plz know that you are always in our prayers...
I must say, I'm glad to see you around, having positive mind and attitude towards life! Be better soon!
This is special for you, a beautiful and inspiring poem from B/Bryan 2001
As long as.......
As long as there's a breath
left in your body,
there's hope.
As long as mankind
has prowled the earth,
miracles have happened,
restoring life and health.
As long as you have
a loving heart,
God will send much
warmth and love
to you in return.
As long as you've been alive,
God has been watching over you
and answering your prayers.
As long as the heaven
and stars exist,
God will be there
for you.
LOve and peace,
Noushy Syah.
Mel you are truly amazing and courageous in your daily struggles just to survive.
May God Bless you and your family.
Carol
I am sooo happy to see you back safe and sound Mel!Not one day has gone since Nov 22nd without me having remembered you in my conversations with God.Few days back at the bus-stop I saw a little girl who looked just like Heidi and today on the way back home I happened to see a young lady who looked like an older version of her and again wondered about you! :)
Call it coincidence or God's will,I come home to find you are back to Bloggerville!
Only after reading this post did I realize the enormity of your pain and was surprised to know a person can be so cheerful and manage to communicate with so many people in spite of all the suffering.Cheers to your wonderful spirit!
God Bless You,your loving wife and your lovely children and may you always be safe and happy.Take care.
Mel, I am sorry to hear about your medical issues! These problems also run in my family! So this is why I am so determined to get make lifestyle changes and improve my overall health!
My doctor once told me with proper diet and excercise these problems will go away!
PS-Check out the poetry blog-the book is published! It has been a long time coming!
Hi Heireschild,
Oh thank you very much for your words of comfort and for your prayers. May God bless you more for them. I am okay now, although I could not work in my computer as I was doing before. I don't want to strain my back again, so I'm just typing only in short span of time to relieve the stress in my back. Yes, God was with me all the time of my severe trials and He strengthened me to overcome them. Now I'm back to serve and love Him more and spend my lifetime serving Him and ministering to the souls He will send to me. Thanks again for your kindness and prayers. God bless you and your family. Have a wonderful and blessed day.
Oh Noushy my friend, that is a very beautiful and soulful poem. You touch my heart by it as I shed tears of joy upon reading it. Truly the one who wrote it was under divine inspiration to evoke such kind of emotion from a suffering soul. Thanks for your very kind words and for your prayers too. I will always treasure them as long as I live and they shall serve as inspiration for me to be of service to others too. Thank you very much for your friendship and for your deep concern for me. God bless you with the very best things in life. Have a wonderful and peaceful day.
Thank you very much Carol aka Beachgirl. I'm sorry if I cannot visit you all regularly as I used to. I cannot strain my back too much by typing in the pc for a long time lest I suffer the same malady that struck me. But I will be visiting you all as my back would tolerate. Thank you very much for your message of concern and comfort. God bless you and your family. Have a wonderful and peaceful day.
Hi Sameera,
You will always be my cherished friend, a comrade in pen who share the same passion for uplifting and inspiring the lives of others. Thanks for your concern, for your prayers and for your concern to my family too, especially my precious Princess Heidi. She has been a pillar of strength for me throughout all my ordeals. I'm sorry if I cannot be as regular with my visits as before. I cannot unnecessarily strain my back and suffer the same sufferings again. But I will always visit your blog as often as I could. I already missed a lot of your wonderful posts and I intend to read them all if time and the condition of my back will permit. Thank you again for everything. I'm so blessed to have you as my friend. God bless and have a wonderful and blessed day.
Thank you Marie for the words of comfort and inspiration. I hope you will continue with your exercise and diet regimen so that you will regain your desired weight. Congratulations too for the publication of your book. It is long time in coming. I will be visiting your blogs again and will read your poems. Thanks again for your kind visit. God bless and have a pleasant and trouble free day.
Glad to see ya bak safe n sound Mel!
Im sorry to hear abt the health issues. I hope with ur doc's advice and true determination, u will get thru it all. god bless!
Keshi.
Thanks again Keshi. I was truly inspired by your post. Your uncle and I both had a touch of miracles from the Lord. To God be the glory.
I love the lights (Cross) in this blog and the blue colors...totally awesome.
Hi Dreamwriter,
Thanks for your visit and for the nice compliments. I will be visiting your blog too as soon as I can. God bless and have a nice and peaceful day.
Hi Dreamwriter,
Thanks for your visit and for the nice compliments. I will be visiting your blog too as soon as I can. God bless and have a nice and peaceful day.
mel!
fingertalks here.. sorry i wasn't around for quite a long time..it's only yesterday that i was able to restore my blog.
i was speechless after reading your post. i admire you for your courage. i also admire your wife for sharing that courage with you...i will pray for your speedy recovery. May God bless you always.
In Christ,
FT
fingertalks.com
HI Mel,
Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. I always try to have a fun filled day. Yesterday I went to the gym and then to the beach. A healthy breakfast at a friends restaurant on the beach then off to soak up the sun for the day. I hung out with friends and just read my book and listened to my IPOD. Relaxing after a weekend of non stop park hopping.
We had such a great weekend. Disney was packed, but we did a lot of people watching. Always fun.
I hope you have an awesome day.
Carol
Hi,
Mel,
This does not belong to this blog "random thoughts" - this is reality and your life.
Great struggle - am aware as I had 12 years of constant ill health....
life is a blessing in itself and with suffering HE makes us feel closer to him - so I feel that people like us are lucky - as many who are perfectly fine never seek him.
Thanks for your wonderful comment on my blog and liking my poem.
Regards and have a nice day.
Mel, I'm so sorry you are having to deal with these medical issues, but it seems God is blessing you and helping you through. You have such a wonderful attitude and I pray that all these things can be remedied and you are completely healthy. Like you say, all things are possible! God bless :))
Oh Mel, you know, we're still praying for you and your family and your country.
Thanks for your wovderful comments in our blogs.
You know, we don't care if we end up taking care of the children instead of going out to work.
Please don't lose the hope or the faith or the joy.
And remember, a white today is here, and a whiter tomorrow awaits.
Huge greetings and huge hugs
Sweet Dreams and Nice Day, from the bottom of our hearts and with our whole souls:
Arthur & Gusthav
Hi Fingertalks,
Thanks for visiting my blog and for the inspiring comments and prayers. I still cannot link with your blog. I will appreciate it if you will give me your new url so I can link your blog with mine. I have such a high respect for your articles. Thanks again. God bless and have a beautiful and great day.
Hi Carol aka Beachgirl,
I'm sure glad you're having fun. Enjoy life to the fullest while you're still young and strong. So many people take many things for granted, like their health. Only when sickness sets in do they realize how important it is to maintain a healthy body. Thanks for your visit and for sharing the enjoyable moments of your life now. God bless and have a wonderful and fun filled day always.
Hi Ceedy,
I did not know that you are suffering too for the past twelve years. Whatever it is you are suffering from, I pray for God's divine healing and deliverance for you. I know we undergo these sufferings so we can become stronger to minister to others who are suffering too. I really like your poem. It is the voice of your heart and soul as you communicate to other souls. Do continue to write poetry. You are gifted by God. Thanks again. God bless and have a wonderful and blessed day.
Hi Jlee,
Thanks for your visit and for the very encouraging words you left behind. I truly appreciate them. I hope that the result of your biopsy will be favorable and the tissue will turn out to be benign. I have been praying for you too. Be the bubbly and wonderful person that you are, so full of life and exuberance. You make so many people happy by the wonderful articles you so meticulously researched and post in your blog. Thanks again for your visit. God bless and have a wonderful and peaceful day always.
Hi Arthur and Gusthav,
Thanks for your usual visit my dear young friends. I'm so touched by your comments coming from such young people as both of you. I hope more of our youth today will be like you two who indulge in worthwhile activities instead of the destructive activities being indulged in by most of our youth today. May God bless you more with wisdom and knowledge and may you obtain the very best in life from Him. Smile always and have a wonderful and pleasant day.
hi mel, i hope you're feeling stronger with each new day. you are so special and such a blessing to so many people. i thank God for knowing you and your beautiful daughter. i pray God's continued blessings of peace, prosperity, & perfect health upon you.
Who shall ever separate us from Christ's love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?
Even as it is written, For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.
For I am persuaded beyound doubt that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers,
Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39.
Hi Heiresschild,
Thanks for your usual visit and for the very inspiring comments you left behind. Yes Romans 8:35-39 is one of my favorite quotations from the Bible. I have time and again used it in so many occasions whenever I feel so alone and vulnerable. It gives me the confidence that no matter what happens to my physical body, I have the assurance that the Lord will always be there for me. In fact He touched so many souls to minister unto me. I'm just so amazed at the wonders of His love and mercy. And to everything that is happening to me, all I can say is, TO GOD BE THE GLORY. Thanks again for your visit and God bless you with all the graces and blessings in this world. Have a nice and peaceful day always.
Post a Comment