Isaiah 12:3-4 “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.”
Mark 5:19 “Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.”
These are some very potent passages of Scripture because, if we are busy Praising the Lord, we have no time to complain… about anything! Therefore, I have decided to Praise the Lord for what HE has done in my life.
I am a normal man just like any of you, nothing special or better, but I know My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… God. Lately, I have felt the need to tell my story, to a degree. I am not an exceptional person of any sort, but I found out something that I think everyone ought to consider. I am an American Indian 100%; thus, most people think I should be different in that there are few of us left. Besides that, most people believe that we are a very Spiritual people. That may or may not be true. I am not able to say anything for others of my people; I can only tell my story and what the Lord has done for me. I will make this short and concise, and hopefully it will help others.
I was born an American Indian and was adopted by my White Parents as a baby. My Dad was a Military man and spent 30 years in the Military, most of which was in the Orient. Thus I am an American Indian Boy, adopted by a White Family, and I grew up in the Orient. So I must guess I am a little strange. And yet, my Life was just like any other boy.
I didn’t particularly care for school; and when I graduated High School, I did so with a C- grade. I did spent 5 years in the Military during the Vietnam War – sad times as I remember. After I came home, I sort of milled about doing odd jobs, Gas Stations and the Like. I had some problems when I came back home, problems with my Mom and Dad. They wanted me to move out of their house and begin my own life.
In the meantime, I had met my Wife Monika, and her Family drew me in. Her Dad had been in Vietnam three different times. Her Dad helped me more than I could ever repay, and Her Mom was the sweetest woman I have ever met. In due time, Monika and I got married, and I began my Destined Trip in Life.
Monika got two of my jobs thereafter in the Medical Field. Then, because I was now Married, I felt the need to go to School and further my Education in College, which I did, as well as going to school to become a Licensed Radiologic Tech. It seemed very important for me to do so; I was the Head of the House and I felt the obligation to help Provide. In 1981, we welcomed my Beautiful Daughter Kimberly Chenoa (White Dove). Now I knew I had to really perform and finish School. I passed the State Board (Written and Verbal Exam) with a 97%. And yet, I knew this was only the beginning!
I worked really hard to learn all that I could and to become more relevant in my Career, until I felt I was one of the Top in my Field. Medicine is a tough area to learn, and there is never an end to the Education.
I took a lot of overtime cases to be sure I was bringing enough money home for my Family’s welfare, and it was grueling to say the least. I was burning the candle at both ends (if you will), and time for my Family was very short – waking at 0430 hours every morning and many, many times coming home in the wee hours of the next day, only to wake up and do it all over again! I know many of you reading this understand how this is; your lives may have been the same way too.
By the time I had been at my Last Hospital for about 18 years, I was fizzling out, getting tired of the pressure and the super-long days. I had become irritable and unhappy, and my coworkers were feeling it. One day a Friend of mine asked me why I was so unhappy. I didn’t have an answer. The war had taken its toll, and now I felt like I was working and learning just for money. I missed my Wife and Daughter. My Wife was working just as hard as the Director of H.R. for 5 Hospitals. My Friend told me about Jesus Christ, whom I had known as a young man. I had been saved and Baptized too. And yet I had no time in my Life for the Lord!
My Mom and Dad were saved and would oftentimes tell me to “Count my Blessings of the Lord!” I began to look back across my Life; and slowly but surely, I began to see the Lord working in my Life. HE did not work things out the way I would have wanted. HE did a better job and provided the things “I needed” rather than the things “I wanted.” I was tired and disillusioned, simply worn out! I didn’t know which way to turn. I needed something, but I didn’t know what.
One day, I gave into what I was thinking about all the time. I began to Pray and Pray and Pray! I needed to know what was missing, and the Lord told me… I was missing HIM.
The past sort of flooded back into my Head of so very many instances in which the Lord had been working, and I never knew it. I had never paid any attention because I thought I knew what I needed; and now I knew I had been wrong.
Jesus Christ and I then went through my “Train and baggage cars filled with bags of Sin!” I was mortified and so ashamed! I did not want HIM to see all that I had done. With Tears in both of our eyes, we went through each and every bag, each and every Sin. HE would throw the bag out the door of “My Train car,” and it would disappear. In the end, I was spent and sobbing. HE touched my shoulder when I asked HIM for HIS forgiveness of my Sin, and then HE smiled and hugged me! I gave my life to HIM that day, without reservation and with all my Heart! Now I was truly saved to HIM.
I remember that the Movie “The Christ” almost killed me, and I sat there in the Theater and cried. I had done my part in murdering my Lord and Savior. I was guilty by my Sin! So I began reading and reading the Bible, pouring over and over again all that I could. Some Passages were difficult to understand, so I would leave it alone for a short time. Later, I would find the answers that I needed through Prayer and Meditating on the Lord. The Lord had always been there at every turn in my Life, working HIS perfect Plan in my Life.
Finally it came time for me to retire from the Medical Field; the “Grind” was finally over, and I felt the Freedom. I went to work for a Friend of ours for about two years, until he went bankrupt. After that, I had no idea of what sort of work I could do; and yet, three years later I officially Retired and went on Social Security. So here I am today, 67 years old and Happier than I have ever been in all my life; Praise the Lord!
Getting old is not for the weak! It’s painful and things tend to go wrong, simply because we would live a tough life from when we were young. I had been a smoker since I was 21 years of age; so, having worked on Hearts, I figured my Time till a Heart Attack was close. My Vision was not what it once was. I would joke and say that, as an Indian, I used to see the hairs on a flea’s butt at 5,000 meters! Now I can’t see the end of the road that I live on.
Ya know what? I began to write for the Lord and try to get the Articles published anywhere and everywhere I could find. I would always use the Holy Word of God, and I still do, Preaching and Teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Eschatology (Prophecy). This is what the Lord wants me to do with my Life, so I write and write for HIM.
I believe that, because I write for HIM, HE takes care of my Health. In other words, I am doing what HE wants for me to do. Every time I go to the Doctor, I have little complaints which I never say, but my Diabetes is under control. I have the money to buy the Medications for this; and every single test, no matter what it’s for, comes back NORMAL. I had my Gallbladder removed because there was a 5mm stone on the Sonogram and the CT scan. The Gallbladder was removed in Surgery…NO more stone! No more pain, which had been just a good ache.
Before I could have the Gallbladder removed, I had to have tests on my Heart: EKG’s, and Stress Tests. Then I had a Cardiac Catheterization. I sort of woke up during the Heart Cath and watched. My Coronary Arteries are nice and clean… smoker?! As a matter of Fact, every test has been good; and it is not me… it is the Lord!
My Friends, despite my Life, the Lord wants me to do HIS Perfect Will in my Life, and I do my absolute best at it – praying throughout the day, writing at odd hours of the day and night, just for HIM. I have no problems, no concerns, because I am in HIS capable hands… right where HE wants me. I Praise HIM constantly, good, bad or indifferent; it does not matter to me about anything. Jesus Christ is MY Lord and Savior!
So now the question is… Are you where you need to be with the Lord God? How is your Health, and are you doing all that HE wants you to do in your Life… for HIM? Do you KNOW this… or do you still hope and Pray and speculate? You must spend time with HIM to find out what it is you should be doing for HIM. I can give you all kinds of examples of this. Sadly, there isn’t enough room in the Article to do so, but you can always ask me. The Proof is in the pudding, y’all!
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Jeremiah 30:17 “For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.”
Again, my Friends, this ain’t Rocket Science… it’s the Lord God Almighty!
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“
All Scripture comes from the King James Version of the Bible.