Limitations or Limitless Possibilites?

Our children (including newlyweds Hannah and Jonathan) all went on a mission trip to Mexico for two weeks during Christmas break 2020.  It’s a trip (joining over 80 other people with “Mexico Missions”) that we had enjoyed as a family in December of 2017 and 2018.  It’s an amazing way to spend the break, building churches, helping with evangelistic meetings for adults and children, making new friends, working hard and getting sunburned! We had thought to make it a yearly family tradition, but in 2019 I had just been diagnosed with ALS and we spent Christmas break moving from the boys dorm apartment to a house across campus.  This year, although it looked at first like the trip was full and they only had room for Nathan, at the last minute some space opened and all of our beloved offspring decided to go!Kevin thought it not best for us to go so that I could keep a steady schedule with my therapies and diet and we weren’t sure how my energy level would hold up, which could potentially lessen my usefulness with the building projects.  Then there was the risk of COVID…So regretfully we decided to stay stateside and dropped the rest of our tribe at the Little Rock airport December 21, sending them off with our blessing, love and prayers. 

It was a relatively quiet Christmas for my dear hubby and me! We did make a trip to Gatlinburg, enjoying some couple-time and were so thrilled when the snow began to fall on Christmas Eve! (I was reminded that Kevin is a much better aim at throwing snowballs than I am! Lol…) We also spent an enjoyable few days in TN with my sister and family.  It was pleasurable, although there were several times during the break when we would say to each other, “I miss the kids, I kind of wish we were in Mexico with them! Maybe we should have gone.”

In times of reflection during the break several questions came to mind. Should we have gone to Mexico and pushed past my limitations and possibly damaged my health further? How do I come to balance living life with ALS (and all the therapies I’m doing) with getting out there to be a blessing to others? God is answering prayers, I’m continuing to do well with not much change, so it appears I may be around for some years to come (only God knows and time will tell). However, how can I push on to maximize my effectiveness for Him in whatever time I have left and with the limitations I have?  I guess this is a question everyone should ask, but it seems more pertinent if you have a potentially life threatening diagnosis hanging over your head.

Here’s several things that come to mind in maximizing effectiveness even with “limitations”:

1. Be intentional-I have to say that in many ways I am thankful for ALS.  Somehow I am more intentional now in my life and with my daily choices.  We always talk about making priorities, New Year’s resolutions and such, but it seems easier to prioritize if you think you may only have a few more years to live.  I am much more structured and focused then I’ve ever been in my life.
2. Enjoy each moment-Before ALS it was easy to think I was in control of my life and health.  It was easy to pray for others with challenges and be thankful it wasn’t me!  But, having ALS makes each moment seem more special.  What a gift to be able to more fully appreciate what I should have been appreciating all along!  We are NOT in control.  All we have is this moment!  Why not enjoy it?  Last  Friday while cooking in the kitchen I suddenly had an overwhelming feeling of joy and thankfulness to God for my family and life! I desire to more consistently enter into that joy!
3. Be faithful in the little things-I was listening to a sermon on zoom recently and the speaker mentioned that “being faithful in the little things” does not automatically come with the benefit of making us “ruler over many things” as far as greatness or popularity in this world goes.  We need to be faithful just to BE faithful, not to hope we will  be “rewarded” for our faithfulness by becoming the next “famous” person.
4. Be satisfied with simple-This is building on to #3. There are times when I want to do more for Jesus! I see popular christians who have ministries and YouTube channels with thousands of subscribers. I want to do and be whatever He wants for me, but not merely seeking for a worldwide audience. If He opens a wider area of influence so be it, but if He wishes my humble blog to inspire just one fellow traveler then I am satisfied. 
5. Build relationships, encourage others.  I may not be the best at public speaking right now, but I can text and type pretty fast.  I want to encourage others in whatever way I can.  We can all use more encouragement! For example, do what you can to be a blessing to others even with the limits that COVID brings. I heard of one minister who would drop his shut-in members a hot meal on their doorstep, and then FaceTime them from his car to visit with them including playing his guitar and singing. This was VERY well received and his church is still growing, despite COVID!  If we pray for wisdom and are creative, we can often do more than we think.
6. Be more generous!-There have been several people who have influenced my life lately to be willing to “give” more.  Being a thrifty person, always trying to think through expenditures, can tend to make one almost “stingy” in some areas when it comes to sharing with others.  I recently had fun giving our two guest rooms on campus a face lift! Kevin and I got permission to change out furniture and mattresses from campus storage and I had a blast buying new towels, decorations and supplies from Walmart to make them more welcoming and comfortable for guests. I’ve volunteered to be the hospitality hostess to keep them clean and ready for guests.  It’s fun to have my “own little Airbnb" to manage!  Kevin just mentioned yesterday when we were talking about whether to not to reimburse someone for something, “We have been so blessed! We can afford to be generous with others!”
7. Don’t hold back-This one is preaching at me, because I do find myself “holding back” at times. I sometimes feel embarrassed of my speech so I rarely share at praise time in church and am reluctant to say an encouraging word to someone at the grocery store because I’m afraid they won’t understand me.  A new friend blessed me a couple weeks ago when I was introducing myself and apologizing for me speech. She said, “It’s OK we ALL have impediments of some kind.”  When I “hold back” worried about what people may think of me maybe that is just the devil holding back my witness for the Lord to someone in need. Why try to protect my reputation or be afraid of what others may think of ME and my “impediments”? Before any health limitations and certainly afterwards, I am totally dependent on Him and it’s HIM I want to glorify with whatever speech or breath I have left! I don’t have to let ALS define who I am or stop my encouragement of others!
8. Be content with what I have now!-Sure, I MAY start experiencing increasing limitations, but I must focus on Him and the positives of what I DO have. Hebrews 13:5-6 says “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”

I know in my limited vision I may not see things clearly and I indeed have limitations. But, His power is LIMITLESS! Lord, please change my limitations into limitless possibilities for You!