"Throughout
History Always, Nurturing Kind Savior’s Graciousness Invokes Valiantly
Immeasurable Nurturing Grace! "
Thursday, Nov 22, 2007
Editors Note: There is a background song called 'Thankful Heart' by
Petra that can be heard if you are using Internet Explorer.
PART I:
I have seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living and have
experienced His unfailing love and His faithfulness through this time of
trial and tribulation when my dad has been in a coma. Even through these
trials it is a HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY because JESUS IS LORD and JESUS
SAVES US doing
miracles in our own lives that sometimes we miss. I know the Lord Jesus has already done so many miracles
since the time my dad has been in the hospital since October 08, 2007.
When my dad is in a coma, in a hospital with brain damage and doctors
believe there is no hope for recovery unless a miracle happens, how can
it be a HAPPY THANKSGIVING? What is there to be HAPPY about and KEEP ON
SMILING? What is there to give THANKSGIVING for?
MOST OF ALL I AM SO THANKFUL TO JESUS CHRIST for all the good things
that transpired since the day my DADDY WENT INTO CARDIAC ARREST.
Before I share those days of experiences, there are so many other things
to be thankful for and are not limited to what I share in this article
alone.
On October 8, 2007 around 2:45 a.m. my dad had a severe cardiac arrest
and when the first responders arrived, the question they asked us was
‘HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE HE DIED?’ because they were not able to
resuscitate him. I went to the other room and kept praying to Jesus
asking Jesus to please not let Satan take my dad but to give him life.
In His mercy and grace, the Lord Jesus heard my prayers and answered. My
brother came into my room and told me that they found a small pulse. We
give THANKSGIVING to Jesus for that. They rushed my dad to UPMC
Shadyside ICU unit with my mom being there. It is a praise that the
first responders were so close by when they came. Now at the hospital,
we found he had extensive brain damage and was in critical condition in
addition to having to have dialysis. We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus for
bringing him through that crisis on those crucial 48 hrs.
"The purpose of his illness is not
death but for the glory of God, I the Son of God will receive glory from
this situation." (John 11:4, TLB)
The support that poured out from Potter’s Clay small group from Oakland
International Fellowship was overwhelming. Phone calls, text messages,
surprise visits were coming but our family was not in the mood to take
any calls, etc. As the days went by, I am so thankful to Jesus Christ
how he used certain members of Potter’s Clay and OIF to be there for our
family. We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus for OIF and Potter’s Clay.
The doctors wanted my mom to pull the plug but my mom did not want to do
that because she felt that is not what the Lord wanted her to do. At
that time, I felt like certain doctors were almost forcing my mom’s hand
to let go, especially my dad’s dialysis doctor. He loved my dad as a
patient and thought that was best for him. He does not believe in
miracles and asked us ‘Have you ever seen someone lose a limb and it
being restored?’.
We told him we do believe in miracles and in Jesus Christ who can
perform miracles if He chooses to, even to this day. I showed him a book
called ‘Move of the Holy Spirit through the 10/40 Window’ and said ‘yes,
I know of people whose limbs were miraculously restored by the Lord
Jesus’. We believe Jesus Christ can restore my dad’s brain regardless of
what doctors say, if the Lord chooses to. We do not know if He will
choose to but we believe He can if He so chooses. We give THANKSGIVING
to Jesus Christ for His capability to do miracles even now if He chooses
too!
As Job said,
'Though He slay me, yet shall I praise Him'.
May our praises go out to the Lord.
As
Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego said, 'Our
God is able to deliver us but even if he does not we will not bow down
to you'. May our faith in the Lord
be strong in times of trials and tribulations.
"We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like
fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear
that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on
every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but
not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God.
We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:7-9,
NLT)
Our stubborn faith in Jesus Christ was known throughout that ward of the
4th floor of ICU. Even in medical reports that are filed by nurses and
resident doctors, there was mention of Jesus Christ and our faith in Him
that is sustaining us through. We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus Christ for
His strength holding us and for His Name to be known throughout the ward.
"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of
God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the
Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in
his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the
Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life."
(Romans 1:16-17, NLT)
We were blessed to have nurses who love Jesus Christ so much to attend
to our dad. When our faith was known, the nurses could share about their
own relationship with Jesus Christ and the prayers we have received. One
of the nurses saw me one day and said, ‘I know you, you are the guy that
paints himself at all the Pitt games’. He also knew me through a
Christian fellowship on campus. He told our family that he would keep us
in prayer and he was the nicest nurse. Another nurse too talked about
Jesus and told us she would have her church pray for us. We give
THANKSGIVING to Jesus Christ for all the nurses and doctors of faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ who were also a support group for us.
When some of the doctors were forcing my mom’s hand and my mom was
troubled, the Lord Jesus sent Pastor Hugo from OIF to minister to my mom
few times and I knew my mom felt better after listening to Pastor
Hugo and praying. Also, Pastor Hugo prayed over my dad anointing him
with oil. We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus Christ for all believers in
Christ who have come to lend support in different ways. Even a member of OIF wanted to provide our family with food each day while we were in the
hospital.
"Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ."
(Galatians 6:2, NLT)
It is a miracle that my dad has been able
to sustain through so many operations. We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus
Christ for the successful operation to put in a tracheotomy, for
successful dialysis, for all the vital organs to be functioning well,
and for the peg tube that was inserted in my dad.
We give THANSKGIVING to Jesus Christ when there was a rupture in the
stomach area and all the food went into the abdomen causing my dad to
vomit green stuff, he did not die. The doctors discouraged us from
having to do another operation but let nature takes its course. Of
course, we wanted the operation done to clean my dad’s abdomen and the
infection out knowing the risks involved but believing if the Lord Jesus
wants to keep him alive, he will. If the operation was not done, he
would have died anyway eventually. We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus Christ
that his infection was gone and that the Lord Jesus guided the surgeons
through the operation.
After the operation and not having food for days because of the peg tube
malfunction, cathedar infections, etc, my dad was in critical condition
and doctors felt he was not going to make it. It was so scary and I
prayed God’s Word for His intervention and healing. It is amazing how
the Lord Jesus brought my daddy out of that critical condition again. We
give THANKSGIVING to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for that.
"Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my
victorious right hand." (Isaiah 41:10, NLT)
"I am doing this so all who see this miracle will understand what it
means— that it is the Lord
who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it." (Isaiah
41:20, NLT)
My dad’s dialysis doctor did not want to
do dialysis anymore for my dad because he wanted our mom to let our dad
go instead of holding out for hope which he did not believe in. He even
cited law cases that allow him to refuse care for hopeless situations.
We prayed and the church prayed. But, he was nice enough to pass it to
other nephrologists who talked to us even though they were leaning the
same way. By the Lord’s abounding mercy and grace, they agreed to
continue dialysis for my dad’s condition. One of the doctor’s even told
us that she believes in miracles but will not do anything that she feels
will torture our dad and give him more pain. She did not feel dialysis
fit that category and agreed to take care of our dad and my mom found a
doctor who loves Jesus. We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus Christ for that.
We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus Christ that
my dad was able to leave the UPMC Shadyside ICU after 23 days and be
admitted into another hospital in stable condition. He came
through many operations by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! During
that time LB, a dear friend visited us and we were given HOPE at
the right time. Also, it was such a blessing to be able to chat with LB
each day regarding my dad, etc.
"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it
gives us assurance about things we cannot see."
(Hebrews 11:1, NLT)
We were told it is almost impossible to find a nursing home in
Pittsburgh that will take our dad that specializes in assisting those
with a tracheotomy, ventilator, dialysis, and a peg tube. They even had
to look outside of Pennsylvania. We prayed to the Lord Jesus and our
church prayed each day for my dad and the different situations we faced.
My small group and leaders of the church would get daily updates from
me at the hospital. A medical student named Ryan from our small group Bible
study would come almost everyday to see us and our dad to answer
questions we had. Eventually, a nursing home in the area that we could
get to each day accepted my dad even though he was on all 4 things. We
give THANKSGIVING to Jesus Christ for that.
"Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you
will give me glory.” (Psalm 50:15, NLT)
“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is
possible if a person believes.” (Mark 9:23, NLT)
Ryan took me to the new hospital where my
dad was taken to. The nurses and staff there all so kind and nice too. A
nurse from our church named Amiee ministered to my mom so much before we
left UPMC Shadyside. My mom has been able to stay with my dad in his
room most of the time and had opportunities to talk to others about
Jesus Christ and also hear others talk about Jesus Christ. We give
THANKSGIVING to Jesus for that. One of the person’s expressed to my mom
that the miracle might be what is happening in her own life because of
my mom being there and sharing Christ.
"But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do
not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set
apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone
who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this
with gentleness and respect,"
(1 Peter 3:14-15, NLT)
Everyday, I have been able to go to the hospital and visit my dad even
though it takes 2 hours of time each day. I give THANKSGIVING to my Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ for that. Upper management has been so helpful
and understanding allowing me to take an extensive paid leave of absence
to attend to my dad even though I am a manager there and we became
shorthanded during the month of October while my dad was in ICU. The employees that I manage have been so caring and keep
asking about my dad. We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus Christ for that.
My mommy has been able to read through the New Testament to my daddy in
the hospital. We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus Christ for His Word and for
the opportunity for my daddy to hear the Gospel, for the Word of the Lord
does not go void but brings forth fruit. My dad has been able to breathe
on his own during weaning trials which is a praise to. We give
THANKSGIVING to the Lord Jesus even through this pain for though we do
not know His ways always, His ways are certainly higher than our ways.
Amazingly one day Pastor Hugo came to the new hospital and
read Psalm 55 to my mom and prayed over my dad anointing him with oil.
"For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come
down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the
earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my
mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I
desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in
joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst
into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their
hands." (Isaiah 55:8-11, NLT)
People have written on my facebook wall,
messaged me, and been there to support me through this time of crisis.
All the names I mention are those with facebook accounts. This is not
to say that those without facebook have not been supportive.
From Potter’s Clay of Oakland International Fellowship who are also on
facebook:
Liz, Christy, Elias, Keng, Ling, Ryan, Min, Ksenija, Bryan, Lydia,
Elizabeth, Rodney, Susan, Ed, Rachel, Yokho, Lynn, and Ian. Pastor
Bucknell and Matt from OIF.
From facebook:
Justina, Megan, Lindsey, Emma, Marissa, Helen, Christine, Lauren, Katie,
Whitney, Dania, Katie, Andy, Tina, Julie, the sorority sisters of KAPPA
DELTA, sorority sisters of DELTA DELTA DELTA [for that touching greeting
card from them to our family], James, Shady, and Rohit.
We give THANKSGIVING to Jesus Christ for all of them.
"I thank my God every time I remember you."
(Philippians 1:3, NLT)
Happy
Thanksgiving to each one of you and all
As you
celebrate this holiday with family and friends this fall
Praise
the Lord for all his blessings upon you, as you call
Prayer
can reach heaven and there will not be a barrier wall
You are
loved and special in His sight just as the apostle Paul!
Taking
care of you is Jesus' special aim
Hope
and healing to give, He came
As the
Lord Jesus calls you by name
Now, it
is with the Lord’s blessings, even Turkeys, we can find
Keep in
mind please, our life He rescued when we were all in a bind
So as
you spend time with your family or friends who come your way,
Give
the Lord your thanksgiving knowing for you, He came to pay
In
abundant love, He reaches out to you, I want to say
Victoriously you can now live your life
It is
because Jesus’ sacrifice saves you from sin’s strife
Now to
Him who came back to life and is able to keep you from falling
Give
him your surrendered life as you hear Him calling!
Amen!
PART
II:
I am reminded of the Bible verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 which
states, “Be
joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for
this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
What stuck out to me in this verse is ’GIVE THANKS IN ALL
CIRCUMSTANCES’.
If anyone is qualified to write ‘GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES’ it is
Paul, the Apostle who was flagged, beaten, chained, and humiliated
facing even death. Yet, he writes time after time about ‘BE JOYFUL
ALWAYS’ and ‘GIVE THANKS’.
The Book of Philippians is also called the ‘Book of Joy’ because we
learn about Paul and where his joy and thanksgiving come from. The Lord
Jesus put it upon my heart and helped me share the Book of Philippians
verse by verse with hundreds of students. You can access that at
http://www.pittsburghstandard.com/SEPT2007/EXPRESSIONS/MoreExpressionsNews0907.htm
in the right side bar.
It can be easy for people to say to
themselves that they are not Paul and are not in the mood to give thanks
but I came to realize too that THANKSGIVING to the LORD should not be
based on feelings and mood. If we always depended on feelings and mood,
then a lot of things will not get done.
Even if you do not feel like studying but you have an exam, you study
anyway don’t you?
Even if you do not feel like going to work but know you have to be
there, won’t you go?
Many people do things they do not feel like doing because they know it
is the right thing to do.
I know GIVING THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES is the right thing to do for
our Lord and Savior commands us through His Word to do that. Anyone can
give thanks to the Lord when things are going their way. It is not easy
to be thankful when circumstances are not going our way but there is a
reason the Lord Jesus wants us to do that and I choose to obey.
According to Dictionary.com Unabridged (v.1.1), THANKSGIVING is defined
as, ‘the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgement of benefits or
favors, esp. to God, a public celebration in acknowledgement of divine
favor or kindness, and a day set apart for giving thanks to God.
Even in tragedies and times of sorrow, our Lord Jesus deserves all the
praise and glory for who He is and for what He did for you and me and
what He will continue to do for us.
“Come, let
us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to
him. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.” (Psalm
95:1-3, NLT)
Psalm 100 is considered a Psalm on Thanksgiving:
“Shout with
joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come
before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made
us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter
his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks
to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love
continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”
(Psalm 100:1-3, NLT)
PART
III:
Everyday is a HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY and not limited to this day because
of what Jesus Christ has done in my life through the shedding of His
blood on the cross and coming back to life to give me Eternal Life. Six
other things I am so thankful for this year even though there are a lot
more.
I am so thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ for coming into my life on
Valentine’s Day years ago and transforming me inwardly and outwardly. I
had serious asthma and was not a Christian at the time. I was a Hindu by
background but knew about Jesus through listening to Bible stories my
mommy read for me every night and by watching biblical cartoons such as
Flying House and Superbook. I am thankful to Jesus that my mom had become
the first born-again Christian in our family generation line that I can
think of many years ago. I give THANKSGIVING to Jesus for that.
On Valentine's day when I heard a speaker on T.V. talk about “accepting
Jesus into your heart”, I said to myself,
“The Bible says
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow”
and if that is true then what Jesus did in those days while He walked
the earth, He can still do today including healings. I knew and believed
Jesus could heal me of my severe asthma if I gave my life to Him. So I
went to my mom and asked my mom what does it mean to accept Jesus into
my heart and my mom led me to ask Jesus into my heart by praying with
me. I became the
first male born-again Christian in my family generation line. My
brothers followed in different years. My life has never been the same
since that day. This is not to say that I have not struggled in my faith
at times for I have but the Lord Jesus never abandoned me but always
reached out to me and am so thankful for that. I was healed of my asthma
and was passionate to reach out to students with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. I give THANKSGIVING to Jesus for that.
I am so thankful to Jesus Christ for my mommy who counseled us time
after time and showered us so much love especially instilling in us
biblical principles to live our lives always for Christ as we follow His Word. My
mom set such an example when she would get up early in the morning
before anyone else did just so she could have quality time with Jesus
Christ through prayer and reading of His Word. If my dad could describe
my mom, it would probably be Proverbs 31. I give THANKSGIVING to Jesus
for that.
I am so thankful to Jesus Christ for my daddy who made so many
sacrifices for us and brought us to the United States when he really did
not have to. Even when he wanted to go back, my daddy decided to
stay here for all of our education, etc. He sacrificed so much for us
and did all the work outside the home so our mommy could take care of 4
of us at home. I give THANKSGIVING to Jesus for that.
I am so thankful to Jesus Christ for my brothers who invited Christ into
their hearts at different times and chose to live for the Lord. My
brothers have been so helpful to me especially during this time making sure I did
not have to always go buy food because it was provided to me by them
each day and for my mom too at the hospital. I give THANKSGIVING to Jesus for that.
I am so thankful to Jesus Christ that I had the opportunity to serve
students in ministry while I was on staff with InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship (www.ivcf.org) as a campus minister. I have fond memories of my IVCF years
and excited to know it is still active at so many colleges including the
University of Pittsburgh. I give THANKSGIVING to Jesus for that.
I am so thankful to Jesus Christ for Oakland International Fellowship
(
http://www.pghchinesechurch.org/oif/oif-home.html) church and our small group Potter’s Clay that meets on Friday nights
where we have a time of worship, time to have a Bible study, a time of
sharing and praying, and a community time of eating together! I was
never much into the whole church thing but have been blessed to be part
of OIF where Pastor Hugo and Pastor Bucknell have impacted my life being
supplemented by other leaders of OIF. What can I say about Potter’s
Clay, where this small group surpasses any IVCF group I was part of. I
never taught I would find a church small group that would be able to
surpass an IVCF small group but Potter’s Clay has. I give
THANKSGIVING to Jesus for that.
I am so thankful to Jesus Christ for the opportunity to serve thousands
of students each day at the best job I have been blessed with as a manager of Market
Central Dining Services at Pitt, am so thankful for facebook
opportunities to present the gospel, am thankful for the readers of the
Pitt News who voted for me to be part of the Best of 2007, and for
Pittsburgh Standard (http://www.pittsburghstandard.com),
the Lord Jesus has blessed me to be publisher of which exists to glorify
Christ in the counties, cities, countries, and continents of the world.
PRAYER:
"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you
with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home
in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s
love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as
all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his
love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great
to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the
fullness of life and power that comes from God." (Ephesians 3:16-19, NLT)
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