I woke up in the hospital after just having a heart attack and now my blood pressure dropped so much, I awoke with a facial droop and my right arm was so weak I could not use it. The doctor asked me to smile and when I tried to talk my words were slurred. We recognized that It was not a stroke because my right leg was not affected. When alone, I asked God “why me” and “what do I do now?” As a teacher, my career depended on me speaking and talking.
I then heard the Father say, “I’ve been crucified with Christ, it’s not I who lives but Christ who lives in me”. My life is not my own, but I belong to Christ. I also heard “be thankful in all circumstances”. I silently prayed and repented for my attitude and decided to be grateful. These words went to my deepest core, and I realized I had something to do. I started out thanking God for saving my life and giving me a second chance. I thanked Him that I was not totally paralyzed. I went on to thank Him for my wife and family and all the wonderful people He had placed in my life.
On that day in my hospital bed, things started to change but it started on the inside first. I had many more obstacles, but I had learned a lesson in gratitude. As things got better, I continued to thank God for each day and was on a mission to pray for others, even the nurses and doctors who served me. I also prayed for other patients I encountered each day.
Wherever you are, Christ has good works for you to do and it starts by being grateful and looking at those people around you. So, get your eyes off yourself, be thankful, and look at the harvest fields around you.
“ In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Cecil Cunningham
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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