Sharing with others daily words, thoughts and meditations that bring myself hope and renewal during my own daily battles and frustrations with COPD/Asthma.  Sharing, because as we all know – without that horizon of hope, our daily renewal of faith and fight can dim in a hurry.

Take, read, meditate and hopefully find some of the same hope in your daily battles with a chronic illness and/or disability as I have within mine….

The Word – “Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.”  (Psalm 65:4, NIV)

The Thought – One thing we have as part of our human make up is the concept of thinking, conceptualizing and making choices of free will.

While so many in the world of faith and religion will stress that it is all in ‘God’s plan’, it is also in the plan that we can listen all we want to what the Great Spirit of love may say or show us – we will still make the final choice of whether to follow or not.

Those who battle that daily fight with a chronic illness and/or disability know that so many times it comes down to the choices we make that will determine how the next few moments, days, weeks, months or years may proceed.  Within those battles those choices can be even a determination of life or death at times.

While we can lean on others or even press ourselves during times of meditation/prayer to look within for the words of guidance and wisdom, it will always come down to whether we choose to follow paths laid directly before us or maybe choose to go a direction we personally feel may be the one for us.

How many of us can say we have never made a wrong choice?  How many of us will readily admit that some of our choices have possibly led to the situation we may be in with a chronic illness and/or disability?

As a child fighting severe asthma, I knew growing up there were many things I should not do yet I made the choices to try some of them anyway.  As an adult, I continued to put myself in positions where I was maybe working in a field that was not conducive to my asthma and then boom, one day I was diagnosed with COPD and my real battles for livelihood began.

Even when we listen to the ‘Great Spirit’ and find the guidance and wisdom that leads to the four elements of life and happiness – hope, faith, love and grace – we can and will still find ourselves with moments of which we must make choices, choices which may give our path with a variety of directions to follow.

What it comes down to – is be careful and thoughtful when making those choices of life, especially if they entail any possible effect on a chronic illness and/or disability.

The Meditation/Prayer – One choice we know we should never get wrong is taking our time each day to shut down the world around us and seek in quiet a conversation with you ‘Great Spirit’.  A conversation in which we humbly give thanks for all the golden opportunities you provide us on our travels of life, opportunities which we know can either be followed or be chosen to be left behind.  Precious ‘Great Spirit’, we know that with the gift given us that we call free will, it will always be up to us to listen and then choose whether to follow your serving of guidance and wisdom.  We know it is our choice as to whether we make use of the four elements of life and happiness – those being hope, faith, love and grace.  As always, we humbly say thank you for the reasoning of choice, even in those times when we realize after the choice that we may have been wrong.

And we all say Hallelujah, Amen.

(Copyright@2017, CrossDove Writer – This writing may not be reused in any manner without written permission.)

(More ‘Living 4 Today’ writings can be found at either wheezingaway.com or on Facebook at COPD Travels.)