A Second Chance By Joseph Carpenter (Tennessee)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.   PSALM 32:8 (NIV)

I was playing tennis with my friend John when I suddenly collapsed. My heart had stopped. John rushed for help and in a few minutes a woman arrived and began CPR. She was able to restore my heartbeat until the paramedics arrived. On the way to the hospital my heart stopped again, but the EMTs restarted my heart for a second time. The doctors determined I needed surgery. After hours in the operating room, doctors implanted a pacemaker to regulate my heart. Within a few days, I was able to return home and eventually made a complete recovery. Since my near-death experience I have often questioned and tried to understand why God spared me. I may never know the answer, but I now realize that God’s ways are often not the same as mine. When the unexpected happens or anytime we face troubles or hardships we can’t control, we can rely on our faith and remember that God is always here to comfort and guide us. Through trials and dangers such as these, we can grow in our faith and draw closer to God.

TODAY'S PRAYER   Thank you, God, for loving us. Help us not to rely on our own understanding but always to trust in you to lead us in the way we should go. Amen.   * * *     TODAY'S READING   Proverbs 3:5-6         THOUGHT FOR THE DAY   I will pray daily and seek God’s purpose for my life.         PRAYER FOCUS   First responders