"For I can do everything through Christ who gives me the strength."
Philippians 4:13 NLT
Being shut away in the prison's Infirmary...
Philippians 4:13 NLT
Being shut away in the prison's Infirmary...
...as poisonous pus slowly drained from my mouth, has afforded me more time to pray, read, and rest. It's something that's not easy to do in a wild and noisy cell block. Which, in my estimation, should be labeled as a "toxic environment."
Leave it to the Lord to turn an infection into a blessing. Although I missed being with my friends and attending Bible studies and worship services in the chapel, getting to live in an environment of peace and quiet was a gift from God. My week's hospital stay, in a nearby city, followed by more than a month being shut away in a room by myself in the prison's Infirmary, was just what Doctor Jesus prescribed to treat someone who was suffering from a prolonged season of exhaustion and burnout.
However, with this said, my season of privacy and quiet, and being able to watch the deer as they roamed about the wooded field outside my room's window, has come to its end.
Having been released from the Infirmary, I'm now back in my cell. I had to do a lot of cleaning and putting things in order. And although it's nice reconnecting with my friends in the housing unit, and rejoining my Church family in the chapel, the quietness of living in my own room cannot be replaced.
Now it's a matter of having to rely upon the Lord for the inner strength to endure. It's back to the front lines. It's a return to high levels of spiritual warfare. But God is faithful. He will give me the power to hang in there. As the Scripture declares, "Despite all these things, I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me" (Romans 8:37 NLT).
D.B.
Leave it to the Lord to turn an infection into a blessing. Although I missed being with my friends and attending Bible studies and worship services in the chapel, getting to live in an environment of peace and quiet was a gift from God. My week's hospital stay, in a nearby city, followed by more than a month being shut away in a room by myself in the prison's Infirmary, was just what Doctor Jesus prescribed to treat someone who was suffering from a prolonged season of exhaustion and burnout.
However, with this said, my season of privacy and quiet, and being able to watch the deer as they roamed about the wooded field outside my room's window, has come to its end.
Having been released from the Infirmary, I'm now back in my cell. I had to do a lot of cleaning and putting things in order. And although it's nice reconnecting with my friends in the housing unit, and rejoining my Church family in the chapel, the quietness of living in my own room cannot be replaced.
Now it's a matter of having to rely upon the Lord for the inner strength to endure. It's back to the front lines. It's a return to high levels of spiritual warfare. But God is faithful. He will give me the power to hang in there. As the Scripture declares, "Despite all these things, I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me" (Romans 8:37 NLT).
D.B.
