No, Liz is not gone, but the words she shared with me are words I hope will out live her an me.
I wondered what her favorite verse was and so I asked her. She quickly answered, “Philippians 4:13.”
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
I guess many people would have picked that same verse, but with Liz it was different. Let me explain why.
We were riding in our car, on the way to one of her dialysis appointments. Three times a week for four hours each time, they run all of her blood through a machine and put it back into her, a little at a time. At the end of the process she gets to skip a day and then do it again.
As we were riding to the center. I asked her about her jaw. She is slowly recovering from a nerve surgery designed to get rid of six years of severe, everyday facial pain. I asked how she was doing and she replied, “Okay, right now.”
I was quiet for a minute and then asked, “Liz, do you ever get in despair?” She answered, “No.” Living in the peripheral of all of this, I wanted to know why. She told me, “Because I am one of God’s children and He will take care of me.”
Her word made me really appreciate her faith and choice of her favorite verse, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
When I think of the times I feel like I have problems, I am humbled by her. I am reminded of the words of the poet, “Oh God, forgive me when I whine.”
Lonnie Davis