Facing Difficulty

Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Ephesians.
Rescue me, God, from my foes; protect me from those who attack me. I will sing of your strength and acclaim your love. Psalm 59.
No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it. 1 Cor.
I have strength for everything from him who empowers me Phil.

I have what the doctors believe to be Multiple Sclerosis. I first noticed something was wrong with my memory because I could not remember how to play classical music on my guitar that I had memorized. This bothered me, but was not overbearing. Then I went completely blind. This was overwhelming. I was totally reliant on others to see for me. Losing your sight is a terrifying and humbling experience. I had to call on my family and friends, and quickly found out who were my true friends. Special thanks to my son Paul, my neighbor Joe, and my brother John. My spirit cried out to God to deliver me. Through the efforts of my brothers the Lord led me to a man who correctly diagnosed the problem and started me on the road to recovery. Although I still couldn't see what I looked directly at, my peripheral vision improved to the point that I could function. To onlookers I was fine, because I could walk around without bumping into things and I learned how to rely upon peripheral vision to tell what I was about. I was still not seeing in color, but I was not able to tell what I was missing directly in front of me. I began praying to Mary, asking her to join me in praying to God for recovery. I started some non-traditional medicine. I went on pilgrimage to Europe to obtain medicine and to bathe at Lourdes. I was truly humble, repentant for my own sinfulness. Slowly the sores on my optic chiasm healed themselves. My vision had returned in full and in color within 6 months of my baths at Lourdes. I really am thankful that God provided a way out of this overpowering trial. I still have difficulty playing my classical repertoire from memory, but I can bear that. I still have lesions on my brain, but they are not getting worse, and some are very slowly healing. MS means sores on the brain, and modern medicine has not figured out yet how they get there or how to heal nerve damage. They are making progress.

The real power and strength lies in God our maker. There is nothing more important in this life than staying close to God, except for being with him after the end of our mortal existence. This is what the church is all about. This is what the sacraments bring us to when they are practiced from the heart.