The Rest of the Story

 

Well, my October 15 post about the “slacker” at cardiac rehab was spoken in haste.  My “slacker” friend that I mentioned in my Sunday post came by my stationary bicycle on Monday, and we talked.  After 47 years of smoking, he had quit just 19 months ago.  But his lungs were permanently damaged, and his lungs are still too weak to do much exercise.  His wife is in the same cardiac class as I am, and he comes with her to the class three days a week.  I told him to just do what he could.  He said that his pulmonologist said that his lungs might improve after three years … an eternity, if you are gasping for each breath!  How often do I jump to conclusions without knowing the complete story.  I was cut to my heart because I was critical of someone and not supportive of them.  John said in I John 3:20, “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.”  I am glad that the dear Lord knows my heart and knows the whole story.  If I trust in the Lord’s infinite wisdom, and if I am less critical of others, I will be more helpful to others.  I know this because on Monday, I told my friend that I was praying for him.  And … in the same prayer (silently), I asked the Lord to forgive me for being critical.  I pray that the dear Lord will deliver me from my critical spirit.  But it’s an ongoing process that will never end.  So, how about you?  Do you have anything to confess to the Lord?