I apologize to my followers for being absent these past few months. I’ve been on dialysis and it’s taken its toll on my creative juices. However I’m pleased to report that I’m recovering from a very successful kidney transplant, gifted to me on April 4th just before Easter. This has been a twenty year battle but God in his mercy answered my prayers.

I was not fortunate enough to have a live donor kidney available, so I had to go on a three-state waiting list for a cadaver kidney. You must understand the dilemma of praying for such an organ. For my prayers to be answered meant that someone had to first die to make that organ available to me. It is the unfortunate nature of the organ donor process. I began praying for the family of whoever this person would be long before I receive the call that a kidney was available. I don’t know the identity of this person or their family due to medical privacy laws, but I’m eternally grateful to this family. I owe them my life. It is now my duty to take full advantage of this new chance and live my life in such a manner as to honor this person’s precious life-saving gift so that it won’t be wasted.

It’s entirely appropriate that I received this gift on Easter week, a time when we celebrate someone else who died that we might live. Scripture says that only a few would ever die for someone else, but that while we were still in our sinful state, Christ died for us. His death and resurrection gave us a second chance to live eternally with a clean slate. Our old nature exists no longer and we are a new creation.

Just as I owe the family of my donor to live my life to the fullest, I owe Christ my all with each new day I’m given. Ephesians 4:1 says;

“Therefore I, as a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God”

It’s easy as believers to become complacent in our faith, to lose our passion or first love. I’m sure I’ll have times yet to come when relaxing will be easier than serving. But having survived both cancer and end-stage renal failure, I hold precious and dear every new day God grants me. I want nothing less than to honor this opportunity to live my remaining years in his service, wherever that leads me.

A persons death gave new life to my physical body. Christ’s death gave new and eternal life to my spiritual body. I will not squander either opportunity. God bless you all.