5 minute read
I’m All Shook Up! ... By Karen Ruhl
Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. (Psalm 55:22 NKJV)
How do I start? 2022 has been a challenging year so far. Craig’s health issues have been the number one priority this year. I must admit that I have let stress get to me, and I am still in a battle. I guess you can say—I’m all shook up!
The comfort I have comes from knowing that God is watching over me and He wants me to give him my burdens.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV)
Most of us have read this verse and probably know it by heart. It is a good one to learn. I am in prayer throughout the day. I pray for Craig, for our son and his family, for our families, friends, community, and the world. I pray and lift my burdens to my Heavenly Father. So what am I doing wrong? I all too often take the burden back.
Perhaps you can relate. But God has given us the instructions we need. His word is always true. Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. (Psalm 55:22)
If I have learned anything during this year, it is to trust in the Lord with all of my heart. I know He wants what is best for me—and you. I know He is the only one who will sustain us and help us through these times. I also know that He understands that we have times when our burdens feel so heavy that we don’t always know how to get out of our own way.
So my testimony is a story. I hope you will take the time to read it and I pray you can relate and find some healing if you are burdened.
Craig’s health events of this year:
...Congestive heart failure ...Gastro-intestinal bleeding causing a heart attack ...Aortic valve replacement
With these events came many visits to the Veterans Hospital in Asheville, up the mountain a little over an hour from us. He was treated at three hospitals. He was in the hospital for almost two weeks with the bleeding and heart attack, and only two days for the aortic valve replacement.
As you can imagine, we had many trips to the doctors, and I am so thankful for each one of them that treated Craig. My reaction is probably fairly common. I let fear get to me.
I had thoughts of everything that could go wrong. I was tired from driving back and forth to the doctors and hospitals and was worn out by the time he had the heart attack. I asked friends and family to pray for Craig and hundreds did. What I should have done is ask for prayer for me as well.
As I talked to others and they asked how Craig was doing, I was able to be positive most of the time. On the day of the heart attack, I could not stay confident.
One consolation is that my family and friends would pray for Craig and let me know they were praying for me as well. We both felt the prayers and saw them being fulfilled as Craig came through it all. It was nothing short of miraculous.
I am writing this as my testimony because I pray that when you are in a difficult moment, you reach out and ask for prayer. We simply cannot handle all of this alone.
One thing I did was reach out to my church family and my small group. Their prayers meant so much to both of us, and we will be eternally grateful. Thank you, Diane, Regina, and Paul for coming to the hospital. I love you all.
Here I Am To Worship
My title is the name of a song, and so is Here I am to Worship. And this title could not be any more relevant to the way I feel. To bring things forward to now, Craig is doing great. We were both humbled by the number of prayers coming our way. I praise God for all He has done in our lives.
If you are new to our magazine, you may not know that this is our ministry. We are working on our sixth year of publishing. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t thank God for giving us this wonderful opportunity. It is all about Him.
So how should we worship?
1. Pray often and intentionally 2. Give thanks always 3. Love Others 4. Love Yourself 5. Have a sincere heart 6. Enjoy God’s creation 7. Forgive others as God has forgiven you
Amazing Grace
If you have not given your life to Christ Jesus, but want to know more, you can always send us an email and we will help you get connected. The best thing you can do is read the Bible, find a local church that is Bible-based, and surround yourself with Christian friends.
All of us are sinners, and all of us need to repent and ask God for forgiveness. We all need to be surrounded by firm believers so when we need them, we can call on them.
My testimony is that, at times, I am very weak. I want to give my concerns, fears, and tears to God, but I still take them back at times. No one can do this alone, lean on Him. He is waiting.