AOHE

Gratitude Attitude

A person expressing gratitude by placing their hand over their heart.

1 Thessalonians gives us what we all look for, the will of God for our lives. It also gives a command from God. He commands us: in everything give thanks. In everything give thanks. Everything. Why? Because we serve a good God. He does no evil to us. He wants us to rejoice in our lives regardless of the circumstance. We (those that have Yeshua) have that blessed hope and our lives are a continual reflection of this.

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thes. 5:18, ESV)

While living in Israel, I woke one morning and prayed before leaving my bed that God would give me a blessing. Immediately He spoke to my heart, “You woke up! You are alive. You are in Jerusalem! You are healthy! You are serving in a congregation!” Get the picture? I then gave Him praise and thanks, and I try to never forget His lesson. Look around you. Sometimes we miss the obvious blessings.

Everything? I lost a precious friend to cancer last spring. He was a friend to my family as well. He was an inspiration to everyone. He was a grateful man and witness. Was he thankful for cancer? Of course not. As a matter of fact, he would drop in and ask Steve and me to pray over him, but he never accused God of failing him. He was grateful to God for his hope of eternal life and God’s Word, which gave comfort and strength. His life reflected a stronger witness than most.

In everything give thanks. Why? Because He blesses us daily. Our children (no matter what stage they are in) are a blessing. Our spouses, churches, country, our armed forces, freedom, breath, jobs, homes, pets, neighbors, etc.

In everything give thanks. Why? Because we are commanded by our Heavenly Father.

In August of 2017, Steve had planned a cruise for a long overdue vacation. It was leaving from Galveston, which was a blessing since we would be close to home. There were hurricane warnings continually on the radio and TV. As we drove to Houston in the late afternoon, it was sunny and pleasant. I called our cruise broker probably four times, asking him each time if they would cancel the cruise and if it was safe. He literally scoffed at me and said these big ships can sail through anything, “it is on, and you will be fine!”. When we arrived at our motel in League City, south of Houston and 15 miles from Galveston, it was an incredible evening. The sunset was beautiful, and we had a nice dinner, joking with the waiter about all attention given to this “hurricane.” The restaurant was packed, and life was in full swing.

Later that night the winds and rain began, gently at first and then graduating into 130 mph force. The rain started to seep in through our third-floor window, and the manager was bringing large rags to the rooms to catch the running water, and eventually, we used all the towels in our room. Friday, August 25th, category four hurricane Harvey hit the coast of Texas and continued 30 miles inland to north central Houston. The eye was directly over us. Harvey ranks as the second-most costly hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since 1900, causing $125 billion in damages. We watched from our window as people were paddle boarding by and wading into the hotel with garbage bags of personal belongings.

Our hotel was elevated above the water, and we began to look like an island in a lake. We spent the night with an apple as dinner and bottled water. The storm continued through the night and then began to lighten in the late afternoon. Steve and I decided to venture to a strip mall to find food. There were patches of dry space that we hop-scotched to as we crossed small lakes to the mall. Steve stopped at a gas station and filled the car. No one was on the road, and we were fortunate enough to come to the stations as we entered the strip mall. We saw light in a restaurant and were grateful that it was open. It was a Japanese restaurant, and it was full of first responders. The owner said we could have whatever he had – he told us the electricity was off, and he needed to get rid of his inventory. Although he wanted to give us the food, we paid over the full price and prayed with him – it was a tragic situation. The waxing and waning tide made it necessary to return quickly to the hotel.

The next morning Steve was ill. He was burning up and nauseated. At first, I thought it was food poisoning, but for whatever reason (GOD!), I wanted to check his legs out. He was susceptible to cellulitis. Sure enough, he had it. Maybe two hundred yards from the hotel was an urgent care clinic, we slowly drove to it. We were able to get in and received an antibiotic prescription. Huh? There was nothing open! I told the hotel owner my situation, and he found an open grocery across the freeway (which was totally covered with water). The hotel owner had an employee drive me to the store on a route he had found that was higher and drivable. It was a scary trip, but we made it. There were guards at the doors of the store and only a few customers were allowed in at a time. There was nothing on the shelves. There was a pharmacy, and they did not have what I needed. I told the pharmacist our situation and he gave me four pills of an equivalent without charge. Bottom line, Steve and I had to get out of there.

In the morning, I went to the desk, where a group of guests encircled a large map. I told them my situation. One of the men showed me a route that he thought might be safe. The water was receding some, but only one side of the freeway was clear, and it was being used for vehicles going both directions, north and south. He told me not to go beyond a certain point if it looked sketchy and to come back. Thanking him, I got Steve and loaded the car, and left. Slowly, slowly we made it to mid-Houston then it was open and clear. It punched it!

Our Dr. had Steve come right to the office and he was given a better script.

The next morning Steve was resting in our bed with his feet up. Toi met me for coffee and Richard was driving up to meet us for lunch. I called Richard to find out where he could meet us, but he was instead at our house. Toi and I drove to the house to pick him up, and I asked if he had checked on Steve. No. I went to the bedroom and Steve was sitting on the edge of the bed. I said, “What’s up?” “I have to go to the bathroom,” he said. “Well go,” I told him. When he started walking, he was very wobbly, so I got under his shoulder and was walking him. By the time we reached the bathroom, he was fainting. I called out to Richard. Steve was hemorrhaging. I cut off his clothes and Richard and I began working on him. Toi was downstairs and called an ambulance. She had told them his size, so they brought a sling and six firemen. When they saw him, they told us that we had done their prep work for them, and they began taking his stats. His blood pressure was 90/50ish.

They took him to the hospital, and everyone jumped into action. He had an IV and a blood transfusion immediately. The doctor came in and told me they were transferring him to another hospital. Good, I did not care for this hospital at all. A specialized nurse was called to the hospital from Waco (50 miles north) to put in a PICC line because of the number of catheters he needed. The nurse just happened to be less than 20 miles away! He was now on his third transfusion.

The doctor came in and said they were not taking him to another hospital. Then he told me he was not stable enough to be transferred. Uh…really? My kids and I found this hard to believe since Steve was coherent and talking. The doctor told us, “I am not worried about his hemorrhaging, his body is in shock, and we are having a hard time getting him stabilized.” Then we were shocked.

They put him in a bed that closed in on him and then opened (over and over) – it was massaging him and getting his blood flowing. I found out that they had done a total updating of the ICU, and it was the best in our county! There were three IVs in the PICC, and he was now on his fifth blood transfusion. They managed to stabilize him, and then he had an endoscopy.

The doctor told me had five ulcers! Three bleeding. He cauterized them and said he was stable. I asked if the ulcers were stress related, and he told me that ulcers are never stress-related. They were caused by the meds we had given him in Houston! After six days in the intensive care unit, he was almost back to himself. All in all, it was an adventure we never want to re-experience. Steve lost 75 pounds in the ordeal.

Now, why did I share all this? Well, we were praising God for all the ways he had provided for us miraculously:

  • A hotel that was higher than the flood waters
  • The ability to get gas
  • The only open restaurant in the area
  • Guidance to check Steve’s leg and recognize cellulitis
  • Access to an urgent care
  • Driver to a store
  • Sympathetic pharmacist
  • People at the hotel who had a map, knew the area and helped plan my route
  • An easy escape from Houston
  • A Dr who cared immediately
  • Richard changed plans and went to our house instead of a restaurant
  • Finding Steve coherent
  • Having my family there to help with the situation
  • Having six well-trained firemen to care for Steve
  • Preparing Steve before the ambulance came
  • A PICC line nurse only minutes away (not over an hour)
  • Brand new ICU with incredible top-notch doctor
  • An internist who happened to be at the hospital with his patient who could perform the endoscopy
  • Steve lost 75 pounds, which actually kick-started a much-needed weight loss...albeit the hard way

Some people look for problems, not solutions. A heart of gratitude is a tender heart, which will encourage others to be more thankful.

I have a precious friend who is an inspiration of hope. Her life theme is God is good. She is going through one of the hardest battles of her life, yet she doesn’t waver from that theme. She recently reminded us of a Chinese story:

A man, living in a village, had his horse run away. The people of the village said “Oh that’s bad” “Maybe. We’ll see”, the man said. His horse returned, bringing six wild horses. The people of the village said, “Oh, that’s good!” The man replied, “We’ll see.” His son was breaking in one of the horses when it bucked him off, and the son broke his leg. The people of the village said, “Oh, that’s bad.” The man said, “We’ll see.” The army came through the village conscripting young men for war. The people of the village said, “Oh that’s bad.” “We’ll see,” said the old man. The army left the son behind because of his broken leg. The people of the village said, “Oh, that’s good!”

The point? God is good! ALL the time.

Rejoice in the Lord always! And again, I say rejoice! (Phil. 4:4, ESV)

Let’s prepare our hearts as we go into next month and Thanksgiving. November has become a retailer's race to whet our appetites for more and more things. Let’s look to a time of gratitude and grace towards all, even those you deem unlovely.

We, the Apple of His Eye family, rejoice in you! Thank you for your faithfulness in praying and giving so that others may know and grow. Thank you for loving the Jew first and also the Gentile for the cause of Christ.

Nancy Cohen

Love from my heart,

nanC

Nancy Cohen is the Director of Women's Ministries at Apple of His Eye

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