Our Journey Continues - No Longer Ignoring the Signs

I’ve heard it said, by Dr. Henry Cloud, no less, that there are three types of individuals - Wise, Foolish, and Evil.  In pondering this concept, I’ve come to the following conclusions:

Those who are evil…of course, you don’t want them around.  You can’t trust them.  They are out for their own interests, and will hurt anyone who gets in their way.  You don’t want them on your team, as they will divide and destroy.  You don’t want them as a friend, as they’re incapable of true friendship.  They want nothing to do with truth, as they believe truth does not apply to them.

Then there are the Foolish.  Instead of changing themselves and their lives to align with truth, they believe they can adapt truth to fit their own lives.  Narcissism clouds and disjoints reality, as the truth they create really isn’t truth at all. When correction comes, they immediately become defensive and easily offended, as desire for change, growth, health and wholeness has long since vacated the premises, leaving them with a desire for selfish and narcissist comfort. 

Last, but certainly not least, are the Wise.  The Wise desire truth, seek truth, and live for truth.  They are extremely honest, as they constantly re-evaluate their own lives to determine if it aligns with the ultimate Truth – Jesus Christ. When correction comes, they are not defensive, but rather appreciative and contemplative, evaluating their behavior, attitude, and spiritual well-being, as their desire for health and wholeness overrides any possible offense or embarrassment. Their ultimate goal is greater intimacy with Christ. 

The Wise are also Sign Seekers – constantly looking for what God is doing, showing and requiring.  They don’t want to miss a thing, as each sign, whether it come in the form of inspiration, adjustment, correction or identification, presents a new opportunity. The Wise are life-long learners, full of humility, refusing to settle for “good enough,” when “greater” with Christ is a possibility. Oh, how I desire to be among the Wise!

With this in mind, I find myself constantly reciting and praying James 1:5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” 

As Stan and I venture through this season of not running, but rather leaning into the pain, asking for greater wisdom is definitely at the top of our list. Status quo is not an option.  We want to be prepared and ready for the season ahead, which we believe will be greater and more effective, impacting the Kingdom of God as never before.  Therefore, we need, desire, and crave wisdom, as we know it properly aligns us and allows us to experience a greater level of both  intimacy and effectiveness. 

However, in that obtaining this level of wisdom requires extreme honesty and authenticity, I realize, as I look back approximately six weeks, before the words “cardiomyopathy” or “congestive heart failure” were ever uttered, much less imagined, for a period of months we blatantly missed all of the signs.

Stan’s color had become gray. We didn’t see it. He was literally dragging himself through each day, falling asleep at seven at night and sleeping until six in the morning, which was crazy for a man who previously only needed six hours per night. Nevertheless, we kept excusing it.  At times he even experienced difficulty catching his breath.  We excused this as well.  This makes me wonder…over my life, just how many signs have I ignored?

It now seems impossible that we managed to miss all of these signs (and more). Nevertheless, we did.  How could we have been so naïve, even stupid?  In retrospect, I’ve come to realize it was because we were so busy - busy doing ministry, duties, relationships, and life.  We weren’t looking because we were “doing” and leaving almost no time for “being.”  We weren’t sensitive to what was happening, because we were “ministering.”   We simply didn’t want to be inconvenienced with health issues. We had too much to do. 

Taking all of this into account, I’ve determined I can no longer miss the signs. None of us can! Whether a sign comes in the form of a Holy Spirit nudge, a Scripture, phrase, glance, appearance or correction – my prayer is that each of us become so sensitive to what He is showing us, that we do whatever is necessary to clear the way for this desired Divine Recognition.

May we slow down, look, listen, ponder, re-adjust and re-align our lives to the Ultimate Truth – Jesus Christ. May we stop doing, and start being – allowing our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to increase exponentially.  May we be among the Wise – those who love and live Jesus Christ every moment of every hour, of every day, of every year, seeking correction and adjustment with confidence and security. 

We can no longer allow or afford ourselves to miss His Signs. And the good news is…we don’t have to, as we know, when wisdom is needed, all we need to do is ask.

Thank you for partnering and praying with us on this journey. Your prayers are working! Stan is growing stronger each and every day.  We are anticipating great news with the next echocardiogram, which is scheduled for July 31st.  We love and appreciate you more than we could ever say!

Cammie