Reflections from the Home Team, February 2, 2013
“The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the
attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot
change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the
inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and
that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and
90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our
attitudes.” Charles Swindol
Greetings from Cedar Falls,
Following my visit to Iowa City this past
Thursday, I wanted to drop you all an update following a 30 day course of
medication I’ve been on hoping to get my labs and blood counts back in line. The counts have dropped slightly, but still
are not where we want them. Long story short, after some discussion and thought,
a biopsy was offered, but considering all factors, including the fact I just
got over the Influenza A virus, we are going to hold off for at least a month
to see where my counts go. I am
comfortable with that and so are my doctors…and knowing my body, I think things
will come back in the normal range. We
are hopeful and will see where things stand at the end of this month when I
head back for another check. As a good
friend put it, “this has been a roller coaster ride without the thrill”.
Despite the news, it seems I always meet an
interesting person or two while waiting for my appointments in the Cancer
Center in Iowa City. This trip was no different.
I always like to be around happy people who radiate that inner joy that shows
on their faces, as it’s obvious they truly enjoy being alive. I met yet another such person on this visit,
a young woman from southeast Iowa who had lost an arm to cancer. As we sat in the waiting room near each
other, I noticed she was reading a Charles Swindol book, Saying It Well, Touching Others With Your Words. We struck up a
conversation and her warm greeting and smile were welcome sights as I was
thinking through my morning appointments. We visited about our journeys and
somehow, the conversation got around to baseball. (imagine that). She asked the question, “so…what is your
favorite baseball movie” and I replied; “anything that has to do with baseball”,
and then I added that I really like “The
Natural” with Robert Redford. She
lit up and smiled and shared she liked it too, and in fact, offered an analogy
that has stuck with me. She compared her
journey with cancer and the loss of her arm with Roy Hobbs who starred in the movie “The Natural”. You might recall that just before the climactic scene
where Roy drives a home run into the upper deck scoreboard to win the big game,
he had shattered his special bat “Wonder Boy” on the previous pitch. He then asked
the bat boy, Bobby to go pick him a winner. In turn, he “turned” on a fastball,
and drove it out of the park to win the game.
I told her I certainly remember the scene
as it sends goose bumps up my back whenever I see it. She said Roy hitting that home run without his
special bat is like me living my life without my arm. She shared that before cancer, she didn’t
have much to place her trust in. She said she had depended on that arm and when
she had lost it, there was nothing there but empty space. She admitted how she had battled depression
after the amputation and that it was really a “crummy” thing to lose the arm
the way she did. She shared that she struggled to find meaning in her life when
confronted with the loss of her arm and it created for her what she called “unavoidable
suffering”. It was one of those things that can’t be changed, and it’s a time
when she said, “We truly learn who we are”.
She then mentioned that she heard Charles
Swindol on the radio one day and he had shared the comment;
“The remarkable thing is we have a choice every
day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our
past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot
change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we
have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens
to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of
our attitudes.”
She said that comment hit home for her and
then likened it to “The Natural”. She
said that Hobbs shattering his bat was like me losing my arm. It was like any of us who could lose something
we trust in…a career, real estate, your health all of which may shatter into a
thousand pieces, like Roy’s bat. She shared that hearing Swindol made me
realize I had to find something I could place my trust in that wouldn’t shatter,
and I did. She quoted Proverbs 22:17-19;
“Listen to this wise advice; follow it closely,
for it will do you good, and you can pass it on to others: Trust in the Lord.”
Since placing her trust in the Lord, she
shared she has been in control of her attitude and enjoys serving others in her
work each and every day while spreading the “happy virus” to others as she shares
her story. She said, that is her “home run” and helps her deal with her
situation. I told her that the “virus”
she was spreading sure beats the Influenza A virus I was getting over, and that
she certainly has a gift for uplifting the spirits of people around her. I thanked her for that, and she shared that
Swindol’s book was worth reading as it has provided insight into how she can
share her story to help others. Now that’s
not only a great “pitch”, but also a “home run” for me. It’s on my list! I shared it is amazing how the Lord seems to
place people in our lives at just the right time to help us “adjust our
attitude” and “play the string we have”, namely our attitude, and how we react
to those challenging times in our lives. May each of you play the “string” you
have and be the positive presence that changes the atmosphere around those you
touch.
Sincerely, Dave
Link
to: Reflections from the Home Team
Link to Vimeo: Reflections from the "Home Team"... Go the Distance
Link
to: Tommy Emmanuel and "Angelina"
