Jan. 5, 2021-Revised Thanksgiving Week Nov. 20, 2023

Do you realize the blessings God has granted you in this life? Yes, I know. Most Christians know they are blessed by God. But do you really comprehend the beauty and complexity God has given you in your body and in His world?  This essay is personal without the normal citations I use.  Its purpose is to make you think about your life’s blessings and to thank God for them. Young people tend to ignore or overlook them.

I was born in 1941.  My mother died of tuberculosis in 1943 when I was two years old.  In the 1800’s one in four deaths was due to TB. In the early 1900’s it was the third leading cause of death.  During this time there was no vaccine and no antibiotic treatment.  My mother was one of five children. The others were all boys.  Her oldest brother developed polio as a toddler.  Only by constant care and forced walking in an improvised walker was my grandmother able to overcome the disease.  Even so, partial paralysis in one leg occurred in “Hoppy”—my uncle.   As with the COVID-19 epidemic , polio was an epidemic that caused widespread death.  Otherwise, paralysis frequently occurred. There was no vaccine for polio until 1954. Are you thankful you can walk and go places without “hopping” or being inhibited? Do you realize what a blessing it is to be able to walk?

So…. what is another blessing coming from TB and polio? God has so arranged nature and man’s mind that vaccines and antibiotics can be developed.  We live in a time when vaccines and antibiotics are available to combat disease.  For most of man’s lifetimes no such treatments have been available. Sickness and death were the common lot.  Do you realize what a blessing this is?

Oh, did I mention my father gave me away to his aunt after my mother died.  Her mother, my grandmother, had begged ( my Momma) to take me when she died.  I became sick. My father’s aunt called Momma to take me since I was sick.  Due to God’s providence, I was raised by my grandparents, Momma and Pa.  Do you think God for God’s providence every day? Because of God’s providence I was raised in a Christian home.  Were you? Or if not due to God’s providence you learned about our Lord and Savior.

Both my wife and my children and their spouses are a blessing a delight to me.  At my age I am seeing my grandchildren grown up into amazing Christian young people.  Family and friends become the catalyst for living as you grow older.  But so many are without a single good friend or estranged from family. Do you thank God each day that you have family and friends?

Due to my mother’s TB, I have compromised lungs and am extremely susceptible to pneumonia.  Until two years ago this was never a problem.  My doctor tells me my physical condition and youth enabled me to overcome this without symptoms. With age this is no longer true. The diagnosis is asthma, but with age this is diagnosed as COPD.  Of course, this affects your ability to breathe—especially with exertion.  TB, polio, and COPD affect your breathing.  Are you thankful you can breathe without difficulty?  I am thankful for every clear breath I take. 

Recently I noticed my vision acuity was decreasing.    Before I was able to read without glasses.  It kept getting worse. I did a test for macular degeneration (AMD) using an Amsler Chart you can download online.  Sure, enough my vision in my right eye had the classic “wavy lines” associated with AMD. Oh no! You go blind in about 10 years and there is no cure.  My regular MD eye doctor sent me directly to a noted retina surgeon.  I am blessed in that it is a treatable condition called ERM (epiretinal macular).  It is treatable with elective surgery or you can “wait and see” if the condition becomes worse.  I chose to go back to my MD eye doctor/surgeon and disease specialist.  I am treating my “dry eyes,” some infection, and will later have some accumulated debris removed. Do you realize how blessed you are with eyesight? Do you know how handicapped most of us would be without it?

As with many in the winter of their life I have hearing aids. Looking for decent TV programs we found the Faith and Family channel on Amazon Prime.  The show is Sue Thomas FBI.  The leading character is deaf though she has a dog trained to help her identify when others are needing her attention.  Her mother insisted she learn to speak and to read lips.  Otherwise, she would have to rely solely on sign language.  My hearing is getting worse as the family will attest.  Do you know what a blessing it is to be able to hear? Image life that is silent.  But God has blessed most with the ability to hear.

Nine years ago, this coming Feb. Martha was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma. (It has now been 11 ½ years). It is a non-Hodgins blood cancer that is not curable.  The death rate is 50% after five years as it is usually advanced with detected.  Martha’s cancer was found during a routine mammogram.  The doctor saw a shadow outside the breast area in the auxiliary lymph node area under the arm.  With a PET scan Martha lit up like a Christmas tree. The treatment was “watch and wait” because she had no symptoms nor impinging problems. Seven years ago, two lymph about 1 1/2 inches were impinging on blood vessels in the groin.  There was serious potential for blood clots. A clinical trial was started and in 3 months she had No Evidence of Disease (the correct medical term). She takes a drug that works differently than chemotherapy.  It is a monoclonal antibody that causes the cancer cells to die. The drug is free as long as we are on the trial.  Otherwise, it would cost $12000/month even with insurance. 

Since this was originally written, I have a PSA test and it was abnormally high.   It took 18 months to find the cancer—Gleason Scall 8, aggressive.  Finally,. through the blessings of God and the contacts of our Cancer Navigator, Tina Withrow, I was able to schedule a real-time in-bore MRI biopsy at Southwestern Medical School that detected the cancer.  Otherwise, I would likely have been dead in 2-3 years. Two urologist told me I had nothing to worry about before I got this non-advertised test.  Radiation was done and so far PSA are declining to the most recent level of 1.  

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States.  But God has arranged the structure of the world such that scientist have now mapped the human genome along with the structures of other cells.  We have been blessed to live in such a time that even the scrounge of cancer can be prevented from being a death sentence for many.

Have you even stopped and thought about the wonders of your physical body? The blood system. The lymph node system.  Your muscles and bones. You perform complex tasks every day. God has blessed you with wonders you do not even realize because they are so “common place.”

Most of you were born in the United States and live-in wealth not even the richest kings of old could image.  Most were introduced to Christ at a young age. The greatest blessing of all is the grace of God and His redemption. We are told “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” God has placed you here in a certain time and place.  What will you do with this blessing?