Tag Archives: diagnosis

You Have to Experience the Bad Days Before You Can Appreciate the Good Ones

Today, I had another visit to my eye doctor.  This is my tenth appointment in the past 12 months.  The file on both of my eyes could be made into a book, going back more than twenty years.  While this monthly adventure has taken me on a wild ride of emotions, I have learned a valuable lesson along the way.  You have to experience the bad days before you can appreciate the good ones.

“He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns only for himself,” Job 14:22.

For someone hoping to turn a hobby into a full time screen writing career, vision is essential.  Yet, some days I wake up to blurred and watery eyes.  This usually puts a halt to any thoughts of writing a blog or reading books on character development to enhance my latest project.  These fruitless days make me appreciate the gift of sight, something that I have taken for granted for most of my life.

Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail? – Jeremiah 15:18

My most recent diagnosis includes cataracts in each eye.  The new one in my left eye is a minor concern.  Yet, the one in my surgically repaired eye has clouded my vision, unable to see anything at the moment.  Thus, another surgery will be eminent in the next year or so.  Despite this obvious obstacle, the Lord has given me peace of mind.  I haven’t suffered like Job nor have I been given the bad news Jeremiah regularly received.  All I can do is take things one day at a time, appreciating the good things in life that God has allowed me to see.

by Jay Mankus

Why the World is Falling Apart

Gone are the days of Wilbur Wilberforce, when politicians did the right thing without taking a poll, trying to get re-elected or win public approval.  In an attempt to get ahead, integrity has been swept under the rug, trampled by greed, power and souls seeking victory whatever the cost.  Lurking in the darkness, the reason for this decline lies in John 8:34.

Slavery, a grave reminder of the past, is alive and well inside the heart’s of human beings.  Although mankind think they are in control, sin is large and in charge, holding individuals captive, Romans 7:14-20.  Perhaps this truth led the apostle Paul, one of the godliest men to ever live to claim he was one of the greatest sinners ever, 1 Timothy 1:15.  If you had to diagnosis why the world is falling apart, sin is a prime suspect.

Discipline, good intentions and self-control may appear to be full proof, but in the end its like fool’s gold.  Subsequently, the grasp of sin prevents countless from doing the right thing, Romans 8:5-8, something Paul knew from personal experience.  Until people acknowledge the reality of their soul, a sinner in desperate need of a Savior, John 3:3-5, the world will continue its downward spiral.  May the Lord help put people back together, one soul at a time, Luke 15:7.

by Jay Mankus

911

There are moments in life when God reminds you, “you’re not as young as you use to be!”  On Monday, an Evil Knievel like accident tubing brought me to my knees, lying in pain and waiting for an ambulance to take me to the hospital.  In a flash, the ability to walk vanished  as I was placed a stretcher with a neck brace, helpless as this reality set in.

More embarrassed than anything, I had 5 hours to contemplate how this injury might impact my life.  Paralyzed by fear, I began to quote verses from the Bible as each came to my mind.  Although still in pain, a sense of peace calmed my nerves, causing a spirit of optimism to enter my soul.  While seconds slowly ticked away, I began to feel my back every couple of minutes to determine a diagnosis.

By the 4 hour mark of waiting in a hallway, the doctor in me narrowed my injury to my ribs, kidney and or spleen.  Anxiously hoping for an x-ray, I was set free from my back and neck brace as the drugs kicked in, erasing most of the pain.  However, I was still a hurdle away from being released and given a clean bill of health.  Despite falling 3 feet, crashing into a table and shattering it to pieces, I came home late Monday night with a welt on my right side.  Within this 911 emergency, only the power of God can take credit for a miraculous recovery from this stupid incident.

by Jay Mankus

Potty Mouth

If you are honest with yourself, we have all had a regretful moment in reflecting, “I can’t believe I just said that!”  At times in life, often unexpected, the strangest things come out of our mouths.  This is likely the context of Psalm 59:12, when mere words become like venom, filling ears with poison and contaminating the souls of children.

There was a time, not so long ago when communities helped police themselves.  Adult figures served as guardians, instilling character within neighborhoods.  If a child ever publicly cursed, displayed disrespect or harmed another kid, parents would immediate intervene, forcing this individual to apologize and vow never to do this act again.

Today, the fear of confrontation, law suits and a gradual decay within society has led to an epidemic of sins of the mouth.  Whether you are at your local mall, walking through a park or catching a quote family show on television, put downs, 4 letter words and F-bombs have become common place.  Garbage in, garbage out has impacted children under the age of 10, spewing out what they hear, without any regard to listening ears.

The Bible’s diagnosis of this problem places the blame on the human heart, Jeremiah 17:9.  According to Jesus, the heart serves as a storage center, absorbing up good and bad things, Luke 6:45.  Vocabulary is simply a byproduct of what your heart has accumulated.  Therefore, if you want to stop these sins before they roll off your tongue, guard your heart for it is the well spring of life, Proverbs 4:23.  Replace these sins of the mouth with the peace of Christ, Colossians 3:15-17.

by Jay Mankus