Happy Easter Monday!
I would like to wish everyone a Happy Belated Easter. Whether you practice the Catholic Faith or not I hope you all had the opportunity to spend the day with those you love. I was fortunate enough to have one of my friends, who is a priest, come celebrate Mass with several of us in the nursing home chapel. Father Damian is one cool priest! He visits me often and we often find ourselves talking of music, grade school memories, and other current events. He is a very accomplished musician and I invited him to come up and jam with my other friends who often come up and play their instruments. After Mass, I was able to spend several hours outside enjoying wine and family. Unfortunately, my mom was at home stricken with a kidney stone. She is doing a little better today. Please keep her in your prayers as well. I find myself spending 2 to 3 hours a day outside; the sun is a great source of energy for me. One of the things this injury has taught me is to calibrate expectations. In the past, on sunny days, I would be happy to go for a run/walk with my wife and then pop in to a local watering hole for a cold beer/wine. We would often talk with each other for hours and many a time those afternoons turned into nights. Afterwards, we’d head home to watch a movie and drink more wine. Now, since the accident, I am happy just to be outside. To feel the sun, smell the air, listen to my music and occasionally sip a beer, is a gift. While I would rather be running with my wife, I am still very appreciative of being able to enjoy the outdoor sun. I am starting to develop a nice tan. I need to be careful, though, because I can only feel the heat on my neck and face. I’ve started using sunscreen because the nurses were nagging me to do so. No one wants an upset nurse. I am excited for the basketball championship tonight; I already won one of the brackets I was in, so I am free to root for whomever – Go Butler! Everyone loves an underdog – especially me these days.
I was recently awarded a brand new laptop by the Northeast Ohio Spinal Cord Chapter. I’ve also ordered voice recognition software, which will allow me to use my voice and operate a computer as if I were using a mouse/keyboard. I am excited for this for several reasons: I will not be so dependent on others and can also begin limited forms of work again. My father-in-law bought me an adaptable hands free device for my phone; it is wheelchair compatible, so I can stay connected in all forms I was before. I still struggle with the inability to move.. I spend some of my time with my eyes closed visualizing sensation and movement in my limbs. This still is the “year of the miracle”. A brand new Liturgical year is upon us. With that being said I would like to ask everyone when you pray for me, pray to John Paul II and ask him to intercede with God on my behalf. Last Friday, 20/20 ran an episode about miracles and praying to Saints. I have been praying to several saints for several months. I even had a priest explain to me why it is okay to pray to saints. There is great power in praying to saints, which is why I would like to ask all of you to pray to him on my behalf. Perhaps a miracle will find its way to me as well. Although I do feel miracles have already happened. By medical standards, I should not be where I am today. I have coded 5 times. Everytime my heart stopped the doctors that God was working through brought me back. I am breathing on my own, spending several hours a day in my chair and even standing these days. It is all relative, but I am blessed. However, I still believe in bigger things to come and know that prayer is a big part of that. So thanks to all of you who have been praying and will continue to pray for me to God, John Paul II, and the other forces above you pray to.
Finally, I had a lot of great visits from friends over the Easter holiday. It is always great to reconnect with those whose paths I’ve crossed in the past.
In closing, there is a scripture reading that currently hangs on my wall (Romans 8:18) that I read several times a day. I’d like to share the story with you as to how I discovered this passage. I apologize if this is redundant to any of you, as I have shared it many times. In 1991 Dennis Byrd broke his neck while playing football for the NY Jets; I was 15 when this happened but remember being so moved by his story and a particular scripture passage he referenced. While he lay in a hospital unable to move a sign was placed above his head – the Romans scripture verse. He read this every day and it helped carry him through. I was so moved by this passage that I typed it up on a small piece of heavy bond paper and carried it in my wallet. Over the years, I constantly found myself taking the scripture out and reading it over and over. For those that know me, you know that I have always been a person of “lists”. I was always making lists, whether To Do lists, Bucket lists, or Quote lists. The scripture that Dennis Byrd introduced me to has always been my favorite. In fact when I traveled to China in 1996 I had a calligraphy scroll made for me with this inscription on it. I had it framed and have hung it everywhere I have lived. The Chinese artist was so moved by the verse that he asked my permission to be able to use it in some of his own works. I was happy to tell him yes, as the Bible is there for all of us not just a few of us. Anyway, here I was, a young adult carrying around a holy passage introduced to me by a spinal cord victim. Shortly after my own spinal cord injury, when I awoke in my hospital room in Michigan, one of the first things I saw was this verse beautifully inscribed on a large piece of heavy poster board hanging on my wall. My Aunt Carolyn who is very gifted in calligraphy made it for me. It still hangs in my room today.
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” – Romans 8:18
Happy Easter Monday!