Some Miscellaneous Thoughts

I am very grateful to God for the swift recovery of Linda. The knee replacement surgery went very well. I was gearing up to a wrenching time of watching her suffer and telling her to get back on the "torture" machine. It wasn't like that at all. Of course she had quite a bit of pain, but she is amazing on her recovery. Why this quick recovery? Part of it is Linda herself. She is a strong person. She has a strong will and is willing to push herself. I suppose that a lot of credit should go to her doctor. He obviously did a great job on the surgery. But, as a believer, I think the fact that Linda and I had "bathed" the surgery and recovery in prayer -- together with a lot of people from all over praying is what really did the trick. Thank you God!

We needed some equipment for the recovery. We decided to rent a wheel chair to get her home from the hospital. I intended to buy a walker. While renting the wheel chair, one of my long time members from First Baptist Chula Vista came in. She said, "You aren't going to buy a walker are you?" "Yes, we need one." " I have two that I will loan to you. One is a regular walker and one is the deluxe model with a seat and wheels." Just like that, God saved us some money.

Let's Celebrate Marriage

I actually wrote this post last Thursday -- July 9th. My wife was undergoing surgery and I didn't have access to a computer -- I actually wrote it with pen and paper! I have been busy with hospital visits etc. until today. Here are some thoughts regarding an article from The Atlantic July/August issue of 2009. The article title was "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", written by Sandra Tsing Loh.


Here is my post:


In this article, the author chronicles her infidelity and decision to divorce. She then discusses the marriage (and upcoming divorces) of her friends. She gives some good information re the divorce rate which is quite disturbing.

What disturbed me about the article was that she took her experience, adds in the stats of marriage/divorce and promotes a rationale against marriage. She touts her belief that human beings are not meant to be monogamous. I must admit that I also subscribed to some of these ideas when I was young and unmarried. My parents were divorced in the'50s and my grand parents divorced in the '20s. I also liked lots of girls. Marriage seemed like a lost cause.


Then I met Linda. I had actually known her for years , but she was just a kid. I "met" her when she was 18 and I was 23. We married when she was 22 and I had just turned 28. This month we celebrate our 44th anniversary. I loved her then and I love her more today!


God created us to be whole in marriage. God blesses and uses singles -- but for most of us we are not complete until we are married. A few thoughts that may be expanded upon in later posts:

• Love is a set of actions, not a set of feelings,
• Feelings are a result of love, they are not love itself,
• It is commitment to our vows that sustain our marriage,
• The author is correct in saying that our high divorce rate is exacerbated because of our tendency toward individuality and narcissism,
• The relationship of marriage is about giving, not receiving.

These are a few thoughts written while my love is undergoing a painful surgery to replace her right knee. I know God is going to use the surgery for her healing, but I hurt -- because my love, Linda hurts.Marriage is a gift from God. Thank you, Lord, for Linda.