Life is full of the unexpected. One year ago, today, was one of those moments. My wife and I were caring for our granddaughter while her parents were in the hospital having their second child. Our granddaughter had been exposed to Covid the previous day. She tested positive herself, so my wife and I needed to work from home while we awaited the results of our own Covid tests. I had planned to work from home that day anyway. But, had circumstances been normal, my wife would not have also been home. And as you will soon read, it was good she was home that day.

I was downstairs working at my desk and my wife was upstairs, both doing work and keeping an eye on our granddaughter. It was then that the unexpected happened. Mid-morning, I came upstairs and began to ask strange questions. After repeatedly asking the same questions, my wife realized something was seriously wrong with me. I was suffering from a stroke. She needed to get me to the hospital, but what to do with our granddaughter. Thankfully, our daughter, just home from the hospital, lives close by and was able to quickly come pick up her daughter.

Due to the promptness of getting to the hospital, I was able to receive a drug that dissolved the blood clots and restored blood flow to my brain, lessening the damage done to my brain. Had we not had our granddaughter staying with us, and had she not tested positive for Covid, I would have been home all day by myself. We can only speculate what might have happened.

I spent two days in the neurotrauma ICU, then another few days in a regular hospital room, before being released to go home. Since then, I have done therapies to improve my physical, occupational, and cognitive functions. Just yesterday, I began biofeedback therapy to help me learn to manage brain loops that cause me daily challenges.

For years I have taught, preached, and tried to live out the reality that “a faith not tested is a faith not trusted.” That reality has become ever so real and personal, as we walk out my life changed by, but not defined by, the effects of a stroke. I did not this choose this path but am choosing to walk out this path trusting God. Being completely honest, I admit, some days I struggle both with getting through certain situations and with faith, especially when my brain just does not want to cooperate.

While I have made tremendous strides in my recovery, I will likely continue to have some level of neurological deficits and cognitive challenges. Every day I need to ask God for His sustaining peace and protection over me, asking Him to walk with me. One of my go-to verses is found in Isaiah 26:3 – “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” And, similarly, in Psalm 112:7 I hold to these words – “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”

In this new normal, most things take more time and more effort. And this new normal has also forced me re-evaluate what is and is not important, what is and is not healthy, what is and is not needed, what is and is not beneficial, and tweak my life, change up my daily rhythm, helping me to become a better and healthier version of me.

As you go about your day today, rejoice in the joys, celebrate the victories, and pick yourself up from the things that knock you down! And, regardless of whether or not you have experienced a life-altering event, what changes might you need to make in your own life to put yourself on a path to becoming a better version of you? What are you waiting for?

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Wildfires are some of the most potentially dangerous natural disasters. In just seconds, a spark can set off an inferno that can overtake thousands of acres, threatening property and lives in its path. Once a wildfire begins, it can spread at up to 14 miles per hour. For combustion to occur, three things need to be present – fuel to burn, air to supply oxygen, and some heat source to bring the fuel up to its ignition temperature. When fighting wildfires, the firefighters work to remove one of the components of the fire triangle (fuel, oxygen, heat) in order to contain and eventually extinguish the fire.

We too often see these wildfires on the news, burning out of control, destroying everything in its path. Scripture talks about our tongue in that same way. If left uncontrolled, our tongue is like a spark that can set a forest on fire, causing unfathomable destruction.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, likened an uncontrolled tongue to that of a spark that sets a forest on fire – “If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell” (James 3:3-6).

He goes on to say that an uncontrolled tongue is also like a restless evil, full of deadly poison (v.8). Sadly, we see forest fires and deadly poison in so much of today’s dialogue.

Conversely, our words can also be of tremendous kindness and hope to those who hear them. Or who read our words on social media platforms. The Bible speaks frequently about guarding what comes out of our mouths. Let me share three verses –

 Proverbs 12:18 (NIV) – “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Ephesians 4:29 (GNT) – “Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.”

Proverbs 16:24 (ESV) – “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

So, today, I ask you and I ask myself – is your (my) tongue a honeycomb, sweeter than honey, or a spark, one capable of igniting the forest? 

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