I’m glad that the expected snow did not materialize here in Fort Collins. That certainly helps Debbie in her work as she visits patients. Yesterday she needed to make an unexpected trip to Denver to get supplies for a patient.

It seems like I have been experiencing a higher level of fatigue than I had in recent weeks. This is probably more normal and the level of energy I was enjoying was more the exception. It is good that a short 30 minute nap can get me re-energized.

I finally finished the final Christmas puzzle today! The holiday’s are officially over. I’m glad that I did it the week of President’s Day and before Easter. My daughter-in-law Bridget got it started and then abandoned me and left me to figure it out. I did work on it periodically over the weeks and not at all for a couple of weeks. However, with the challenge of the puzzle I kept thinking it might be July 4th before I finished it. This puzzle had some challenging shades and pieces that were very close to fitting a space but not quite.

I began reflecting on working the jig saw puzzle and life and came up with some analogies for life. This is kind of a Forest Gump, “life is like a box of chocolates” time of reflection.

1 – Life is a challenge and requires perseverance.

An older man had a baseball cap that said, “The problem with life is that it’s so daily.”

Another (who had an Ecclesiastes “all is vanity” perspective on life) said, “Life is hard and then you die.” The most challenging part of a puzzle is opening the box and looking at 1,000 pieces and thinking, “Where do I start?” Life certainly has its challenges and as a result requires perseverance and patience. The Apostle Paul’s desire for Christians was that they be “strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,” (Col 1:11) When we trust in the Lord’s strength He provides not just a bubble-wrapped world, but endurance and patience to face the hardships of life.

2 – Getting some pieces to fit is a challenge

       Being an admitted novice at puzzles I was surprised how hard it was to find some pieces even when the shape of the space seemed unique and obvious. Sometimes I would finally find it and at other times I had to walk away and then return. Sometimes I would be on a roll and find several pieces in a row in what I called, “a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while” moments.

As I think of this, I think of the importance of faith in God even when we feel frustrated, even when we feel stalled,even when the pieces of life just don’t seem to be coming together; I am reminded of this verse: “Now faith is the…evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1)

3 – Receiving help is important

      As I was working on my puzzle last night and a little frustrated why I couldn’t find a particular piece, Ron Kee stopped by to drop of my wheelchair headrest that Dixie had covered for me. In about 20 seconds he found the piece I couldn’t and another one as well! Earlier in the process my sister-in-law Sue (who loaned us to the puzzle to put together) brought over some pie tins to help me sort out the pieces and get organized in my puzzle work. That really made a difference. Life, especially a life of faith is not intended to be a lone ranger endeavor. Sometimes people feel they just need to “suck it up” or there are those who say my spiritual life is just between me and Jesus, I don’t need anyone else. When Jesus called His disciples the Bible says, “..That they might be with Him and that He might send them out..” (Mark 3:13) When Jesus sent them out He did so as a group or at least two by two. The Apostle Paul talked about Christians as a body and being one of another. The “island mentality” is not found in scripture for sure.

4 – The completed project makes it worth the work

This morning as I got to the final 20 pieces of the puzzle, I could sense the anticipation growing of the finished product. (Even though Sue had given me permission to just put the puzzle back in the box) All the pieces “fell into place” they were all there and the finished puzzle even looked like the picture on the box!

I am reminded of the Apostle Paul’s well known words, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7,8)

As we experience life we can see God’s faithfulness to us through  the years. When we allow Him to lead our lives He will get us where we are going. There used to be a bumper sticker that read, “God is my co-pilot” The better perspective is to let God be the driver, and to refuse to be a “backseat” driver.We may question the route our life takes, but when we trust in Him, He will get us safely to our final destination. If all there is to life, is this life then all is vanity. The hope of heaven is a “blessed assurance” that gives perspective to the challenges and trials of life.

Well…that’s all I have to say about that!

Checkout the details of Ken’s journey from sickness to health at www.caringbridge.org/visit/kensummers

ODE TO ISLA

We received a text today from Tom and Judy Price which reminded us that it was three years ago today that my mother-in-law Isla (Ila) Kercher passed away.

Isla was a truly unique and wonderful person and a faithful follower of Christ, loyal to her church, one who loved her family.Isla was a member of what is now Timberline Church for over 50 years. She and Debbie’s dad Elmer served faithfully and consistently during those 50 years. It may have been as a School teacher, deacon, greeter, helper or just someone who befriended others.

Elmer and Isla were committed to faithful service. Paul the Apostle wrote:

“ Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”  1Corinthians 4:2 (NKJV)

If you make your way to Fort Logan National Cemetery to Lot 11, the third row from the street and just south of a pine tree you will find the classic white military headstone that bears Elmer and Isla’s names.One that headstone with the names and dates and rank and years of military service you will find two word, “Found Faithful.”

This commitment in life had its origins in their relationship to Christ. Elmer and Isla were a classic couple representing the “greatest generation.” They both came from families of challenging circumstances. Not overtly Christian and not raised in an environment of love and acceptance. They were married at age 20 on a Sunday morning and the next day Elmer and Isla traveled to Paris (Texas that is) where he began his basic training after his enlistment for service in the army at Fort Logan.

When Elmer returned from Europe after the end of World War II, they attended Central Bible Institute in Springfield Missouri. As a young couple they made a commitment to live for God and establish a godly heritage for the generations that would come. That included their own family as well as those they would influence.

They were ahead of their time in feeling a call to children’s ministry. At the time it was more reflected in equipping Sunday School teachers, leading Vacation Bible Schools for churches and things that we take for granted now but were not as highly valued in the early 1950’s. I found it interesting that Becky Wickstrom remembered Elmer and Isla conducting a teacher training seminar at the church she attended as a teen. (Lynn and Becky Wickstrom became known for their life time commitment to conducting children’s crusades across the country)

When doors did not open up for their primary calling, Elmer and Isla served briefly as the Pastors of the Assembly of God in New Raymer, Colorado. One day I was visiting with Lola Spradley the former Speaker of the Colorado House. I discovered her family was from New Raymer. As we talked she told me her family had purchased the old Assemblies of God church building and converted it into their home.

After leaving New Raymer, Elmer and Isla return to Greeley where Elmer worked in the construction and Isla began her career in retail shoe sales. Her work led them to Fort Collins, where she managed the shoe department at the historic State Dry Goods building and Elmer eventually began his work with the US Post Office. Isla like to say that in those early days, “I knew everyone’s shoe size and Elmer knew their address.”

 Isla was one the few working professional women when Sue and Debbie were growing up. When the State Dry Goods building burned down she began employment with the Pat Griffin Company. Pat Griffin pioneered the concept of self-service gasoline station service. That is something we take for granted now and the technology over time has facilitated the concept. Isla worked several years in Denver for Asamera Oil Company, of all things her duties included serving as the dispatcher for oil trucks.

When Isla “retired” she just worked part-time at the CSU Bookstore. But that was Isla always on the go and being active, making herself useful, working in her garden. She would call Debbie and the first words out of her mouth were, “what did you do today?” And then she would proceed to talk about all that she had accomplished.

When Debbie’s dad passed away Isla purchased the home we are living in now on White Willow Drive. She preferred this location because she didn’t “want just to be around old people.” She would say, “I like young people, as a matter of fact I collect them.” During their years some of the dearest lifelong friendships were those developed with students attending CSU.

There are many Isla memories and stories. From her opinion about shoes, fashion and colors and people. (She preferred white and sometimes off white, at least subtle colors) She would have adored her great granddaughters, even though her advice to her grandchildren was to stop having babies. But aside from great memories of the woman who became known as “geegee” (for great-grandmother) is the fact that the faith has been passed on to the third generation of a young couple raised up in the Great Depression, tempered by World War and changing times, yet they kept their wedding vows and commitment that “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”        (Joshua 24:15)

Picture above taken at Sue and Sam’s house in Wellington in 2009 with Debbie, Ken, Sue and “adopted” daughter Judy Price. Sam was the photographer.

It was great to have Bob and Sherilyn Cook come for a visit today. Bob and Sherilyn have been longtime friends and pastor Victory Life Church in Grand Junction. It was good to see them again and get them caught up on my progress. (Picture above me with Bob and Sherilyn and Steve Harris) We are making plans for participation in  the Colfax Marathon. Bob smoked me in the race last year so I think if I use my power wheelchair on high speed I might be able to keep up.

I also appreciate friends coming to our rescue when our clothes dyer almost caught fire. We thought the smell of burning rubber was the belt. Ted Grizzle came over and changed out the belt and then we called in Ron Kee when it would not start and found out a wire arched and knocked out an electrical terminal. Ron came today and got us up and running and helped with some other errands.

Yesterday I started sharing about hope and its importance to our lives.

When I first became the Executive Director of Teen Challenge of the Rocky Mountains, I tried to answer the question, what do we offer? What is our work about in a word? The answer I came up with that was incorporated into our mission statements was, “hope.” I really came to that conclusion when one of our 180 Ministries students said, “Ken, I had given up all hope that my life would be different until I came to Teen Challenge.”

Actress Jaime Lee Curtis in sharing her story of addiction recovery shares some great insights and perspective on hope. She observes, “Hopelessness is a problem that has no solution…hopelessness is a state of no change. Change equals hope, so you can’t escape hopelessness without change.” (Lawford, pg. 128)

If you hope to overcome an addiction you need to bewilling to change. If you hope to be a better spouse or parent you have to be willing to change. If you want to be a better employee or organizational leader you have to be willing to change. If you want to have relationship with Christ you have to change for that to be a reality.

No wonder Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”Matt. 18:3

Jamie Lee Curtis ends her personal story with the simple statement that, “Hope is the possibility of change.” (Lawford pg. 135)

Hope becomes a byproduct of our faith and trust in the Lord. Consider the Apostle Paul’s prayer for the Romans:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:3

Flip back the pages of time a few hundred years and look at just two verses of the Psalmists perspective of hope and our relationship with God:

“No one who hopes in you [the Lord] will ever be put to shame…” Psalms 25:3

“As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.” Psalms 71:14

Rest is good. Today was a good recuperation day. I actually took two almost hour long naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It was good to rejuvenate after some big work out days this past week.

It was a special treat to have Gary Harkness and his son Grant come for a visit today. I was able to get a picture of the three of us with me standing! (Picture with Grant and Gary. I’m not that short these guys are both 6’5”)

I am building my pictorial progression of recovery of pictures with Gary. If you look in the photo section on CaringBridge you will see Gary at my bedside at McKee Hospital in intensive care back in August 2013. Gary was my physical therapist at McKee and oddly enough is the only staff member I recall from my initial hospitalization at McKee. Gary assisted me the first day that I went outside from my hospital room for a little sunshine. At the time it took great effort, and several people, to get me in a wheelchair and then navigate through the halls with IV pole and oxygen. 

Having someone like Gary who has known my condition throughout my physical recovery process is very encouraging. Gary is not only a very professional and knowledgeable physical therapist but a good friend with a strong faith who is a constant source of encouragement.

 Encouragement always builds hope for the future and for full recovery. It has been observed about hope that:

“Human beings can live for forty days without food, four days without water, and four minutes without air. But we cannot live for four seconds without hope.”

 It is no surprise then that “hope” is included in the three abiding virtues mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13 along with faith and love.(1 Cor. 13:13)

However, hope, like faith and love must be nurtured and developed in our lives. Hope like faith is not a blind “wishing upon a star” response to the challenges as we live day by day. Hope is a “confident expectation.” For hope to be solid it has to have a foundation that is greater than ourselves.

I will share more about this tomorrow for those who have been hoping my blogs would be shorter.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…

“…hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”  Romans 5:5

Update… I did receive confirmation for the new certification period for home therapy. That will get me into early April and then we will be able to evaluate strategies for on-going therapy.

Continue to pray for muscles development and range of motion for my arms. My legs are getting stronger but need to get to the point of standing without leaning on my arms. When I fell on Saturday morning my legs would just not move. It was an odd feeling for sure.

Yesterday with the help of Ted and Murlene Grizzle we picked up our handicap van from the body shop. It looks good as new and was cleaner than most vehicles since it was not out on the roads with the melting snow.

We got the van back in time for a trip to the NuMotion office to evaluate my wheelchair situation. It was good to have the confirmation that my Uncle Vic’s chair that I have will be the best to serve my needs. I am so grateful for have the use of the van and now the power wheelchair. It is a tremendous blessing and a special emotional tie to an Aunt and Uncle that I highly valued.

Also, yesterday Steve Grimes, who was in charge of the crew who constructed my wheelchair ramp, built a set of steps to help me in my rehab. The steps are beautiful work of craftsmanship made out of aspen which is appropriate for Colorado. The steps will not only aid  in fall recovery, but will also be helpful in others ways as I regain the strength needed for full recovery.

I had to “try out” the new steps; so I lowered myself to the floor and was able to crawl for the first time and then scoot my way up the steps back into my wheelchair. The irony of the timing was that this morning as I was making my way from my recliner to my wheelchair using the walker I had a fall. Steve had taken the steps to put some finishing touches on them and constructed one more level so they were not here for me to use. Debbie was home so she was able to help me get back into a chair without too much difficulty.This fall recovery was much better than the first one I had several weeks ago and fortunately I have avoided any injuries.

My physical therapy session was this morning. I used a walker to get from the living room to my office with about three rest stops along the way. This is the longest distance that I have walked. I was surprised that I was not as strong as I expected. However, with some of my recent activities it made sense that I would have a more difficult day. So unlike Friday, I did get in a good rest this afternoon.

The progress that I have been making is encouraging and I appreciate those who are continually keeping me in your prayers. I am seeing prayers answered all along this road to recovery. Sometimes I need to stop and realize that I am now able to perform movement with my arms and legs that at one time seemed like it would take forever to recover.

After my initial forty pound weight loss and an emaciated looking body that even scared me I am back to within 14 pounds of regaining my pre-illness weight. The dilemma is that it seems to be accumulating around my middle. Some days ago, I expressed my concern to my ever-encouraging wife looking for reassurance I said, “I feel like I look six months pregnant!”  Debbie responded with a reassuring, “no you don’t!..I think its more like four.” I felt…better!?”

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…

But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:10,11