text: Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart: Your Dying Spouse 367 - The Road Not Taken
  Linda Stoll September 27, 2017 at 3:53 AM
  mmm ... it's so easy to go down that 'what if?' road, isn't it. I've done that more times than I can count. But if it doesn't offer some kind of clarification or wisdom or healing, it seems to be a dead end.
  Kicking ourselves uses up an energy that's better invested in today.
  Beth September 27, 2017 at 6:50 AM
  Oh yes, that game of "what if" is a recipe for feeling worse than you must already feel, Andrew. Certainly don't want to go down that road! But it's so easy to do when something as life-altering like what happened to you happens. In those kinds of situations, we all want to go back and fix whatever went wrong, but must leave it in God's hands. It's a helpless place, yet most empowered place because God is there. I hope you feel His presence and power even though you suffer. It seems like you do, but I'm sure you vacillate when the pain ratchets up. Trust that I am praying for you and Barbara both, my friend! And thanks again for this cautionary tale!
  Susan September 27, 2017 at 7:36 AM
  I despise WHAT IF LANE, but I find myself there more oft than I care to be. xo
  Janet Ann Collins September 27, 2017 at 7:15 PM
  Everyone has "If only"s and "What if?"s but all we can do is take what we have and try to make the best of it. You're better at doing that than anyone else I've ever known.
  And I have to say "ditto" to Janet's comment. Although I don't comment often, Andrew, and I do apologize for that, I read your posts and pray afresh for you and Barbara each week. I'm so grateful that despite your pain, you continue to share with us the lessons that life and illness are teaching you.
  Praying that God will bless you as you bless us with your stories...
  Tammysincerity September 28, 2017 at 6:43 AM
  What if you took her advice but then were a stubborn kick in the pants for the rest of your life??
  Your suffering is inhumane right now, but the man you have become is God's glory, Andrew.
  I am reminded of Hezekiah in the Bible. He was so good and then as he was given a death message, begged to live longer. It did not end well and his son was the most evil king ever known.
  Your testimony has grown, Andrew. Don't feel as though you are less than, just because you are beyond incapacitated. You have become a vessel in the Potter's hands. Many of us are still just lumpy clay that needs lots of slapping and scraping to shape us. :)
  Regret not the love which once flickered, that now burns fierce. A steady beacon that beckons to others, the hope found for eternity is yours to share with the world.