2012 Year In Review

I could sum up 2012 with just two words:  stroke and rehab.

That would cover the bulk of it.  Brain-stem stroke in January, followed by 24 days in the hospital and various rehabs the rest of the year.

But while that was the worst of it, there was more!  Besides "the stroke," there was...

• The Cancer
• The Crown
• The Kidney Stones

The cancer was skin cancer that had to be dealt with by surgery.  The crown was the result of a flossing incident.  Yep, doing the right thing resulted in more pain and more cost.  The kidney stones were a painful, month-long ordeal that also required surgery and nearly did me in.  (Insert Job reference here)

So health-wise,...not a great year.

Nonetheless, there was some good news and lessons learned.

The good news:

• I'm not dead!
• I'm not incapacitated!
• I'm getting better!

All of that is a big deal considering 1/3 of stroke victims die and another 1/3 are permanently disabled.

More good news:

• Explore Church celebrated its 10th birthday!  No small accomplishment as 75-80% of church plants fail in their first year.
• Explore Church mission opportunities were clarified in Angier, Haiti, and Ghana.
• God provided financially.
• Personally, an insurance rider covered extra medical expenses.
• Corporately, Explore Church had its best budget year ever!

Some of the lessons I learned:

• I am fragile, more fragile than I think...but that's OK, because when I'm weak--HE IS STRONG!!!
• I am not alone...but that's OK, because I was never meant to be.
• Even in suffering...there is always hope.
• People, regardless their condition, matter to God...so they should matter to me!

It was certainly not the year that I anticipated, but...

I find great comfort in that God is sovereign, faithful, and in control.

Here's to 2012.  Though not my favorite, definitely memorable and life altering.  

Here's to 2013.  May it be as memorable in better ways!