STANDARD SETTERS

                                           STANDARD SETTERS

     I always tried to figure out the meaning of the scripture that says, "When the enemy comes in like a flood, God will raise us a standard against him." In my human mind one time I figured out that that standard was a flag that God would spiritually put in front of us that told the enemy to stop right there.
    That's logical and I banked on that for years. Yet, bad things happened to my family and me.
     There were other things I reasoned in my human mind, like the practice of speaking God's written Word and the enemy can't touch the situation. It worked some times but not always.
     Today I have a more meaningful revelation from the Holy Spirit for my husband and me.
     Cancer was found in the entire left lower quadrant of Steve's abdomen. The doctors suspected cancer and had even removed a malignant testicle and sperm cord a month ago. Their intent in the present surgery was to remove a non-functioning kidney and the ureter tube and a small portion of his bladder. They didn't anticipate the extent of the cancer when they opened him up to do their job.
     When we were in the pre-op room waiting for the time for him to go to the operating room, both doctors who were doing the surgery came in at the same time. My husband and I had discussed previously what we were going to say to them. He said he was going to tell them to operate on him like he was 30 years old instead of 74. I said I was going to tell them that they are going to operate on a man who is in the top ten rankings of swimmers in his age group in the U.S. and he wants to be the number one when he's 100. My husband frowned but I knew that, if given the opportunity, I would say that.
    The opportunity presented itself when both doctors came into the pre-op room. My husband was prevented from saying anything because he was taking a pre-op breathing treatment and had the breathing pipe in his mouth puffing away. My opportunity was there, so I emphatically stated to the doctors that they have a man who is not like other men, that he is a champion swimmer and in the top ten in his age group in the U.S. I continued to profess to them that he wants to continue to swim and become the number one swimmer when he's 100.
     They left the pre-op room and headed to the operating room, saying, "We'll do our best."
     When they got into his left abdominal area they found that he had malignant tumors everywhere in the area from above the kidney all the way down to below his groin area. They were up to the job. What they thought would be an easy operation that would take an hour and a half actually took over five hours. They poked and probed and cut and sewed until they got all of the visible cancerous tumors out of his body which took many more hours than anticipated.
     The doctors called him an amazing man and a marvel man because he won so many swimming gold medals while carrying around all that cancer in his body. They were amazed that he never had any pain, never had any blood in his urine. He was always the picture of health.
     During the operation they took out many, many tumors successfully, along with some organs. His prognosis was excellent. The doctors said there was a possibility that he might have radiation that will target the cancerous areas and that he certainly would have chemotherapy, which provides the last clean sweep to rid his body of all the microscopic tumors that were impossible for them to see. He took the news as if it was no big deal.
     While thanking God one morning it came to me, surely by the Holy Spirit who is the Teacher, that if we had not spoken his goals to the doctors before the surgery that they would have seen the extent of the cancer while operating, thought about his age, and they would have closed him back up and told him to have chemo and radiation and he probably would have died in a short time.
     The fact that we set the standard for them, to treat him like his body is the body of a 30 year old, and to fix him so that he will be number one in swimming competition when he's 100 years old, those comments set the standard. We spoke them out verbally to the doctors and they aimed to please, determined to treat him like he is forty years younger than he is, and to fix him so that he can get back to competing in swimming and winning gold medals until he's 100 years old.
     We spoke the standard and they performed the actions that would bring the standard into being. They could have closed him up without removing the large amount of cancer, but they didn't. They cleaned out the multitude of tumors, taking hours of their time to fix him, probably with other patients waiting for their services. The task didn't look too ominous to them when they were reminded of the standard we had set for them, to fix him so he can still win gold medals. They were up to the task and did their marvelous work, led by God's angels, I know.
     We can set our standards low or we can set them high. In this situation we had set our standards really high and the surgeons brought it into being.
     The scripture became real to me by this experience. The enemy had come in like a flood in the form of cancer. God impressed us to tell the doctors the standard that we expected. They did it according to our desire.
     When we speak words revealed to us by the Holy Spirit we are proclaiming our standards every time, and God's working angels will bring the standard into being.
     Knowing that a standard is really a goal or a desire or a wish or a prayer that is filled with faith, it will become a reality.
    My standards are perfection in every area of my life. I'm not standing for anything else.
    How about you?

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

                                             BIRDS OF A FEATHER

     Getting ready for surgery is more a mental exercise than it is an organizational one. Often the dread is overpowering and a black cloud hangs over the patient like a constant companion.
     My husband Steve had been pretty upbeat about his upcoming surgery but I could tell that his emotions were varied, positive most the time but then a wave of fear would pass over his mind with thoughts of the possibility of a negative prognosis after the surgery. I will have to credit him with the fact that most of the time he was upbeat.
     The day before the surgery I asked him a question I should not have introduced into our conversation. I knew better than to ask it. I asked as he came into the kitchen for breakfast, "Did you have a good night?" That elicited a report I didn't want to hear, "No, I didn't. I had a terrible night."
     As we all know, once the day starts off with a negative mindset, very often the rest of the day follows the same vein of thought. I didn't relish that pall hanging over our heads the rest of the day, possibly lasting into the day of surgery, which would be hard to shake.
     I began telling him about a testimony that our friend Diane wrote me in an email that very morning. The story was a follow-up conclusion to an ongoing problem that she had had for several summers. The past two summers swallows have taken up residence on her porch and they have been a real problem. They have dive bombed Diane, dive bombed her dog and cat, and have been a real nuisance. She has not been able to sit on the beautiful porch that she has decorated for a town contest. Enjoyment went out the window for her when the swallows decided her porch was the perfect place to nest. They were back again this year like vacationing relatives, making the summer unbearable again.
     Some other birds decided to inhabit her porch this summer also. A finch built a nest in her hanging basket that was filled with flowers. They were welcome because they did not have the habit of attacking man and beast the way the swallows did.

     Diane's son Chris and his girlfriend Babette came to visit and share some of the great wisdom they have gained in their many travels and meditation seminars. Diane told Babette about the swallows and told her about the finches and their nest.
     Babette remarked that she had a book that she wanted to share with Diane about birds and how they are sent to us with messages that we need to learn. She shared an unusual insight, that the finches were there in the hanging basket to bring peace between Diane and the swallows. My friend decided to read the book about messenger birds with an open mind after hearing that interesting comment.
     The next morning Diane prepared to take her dog for a morning stroll, a daily occurrence, and she was prepared to have to dodge the swallows and their dive bombing habits. However, as she gathered up the small dog in her arms and tiptoed onto the porch she was astonished. There were no swallows around. They were not there to torment her and her dog. As she walked further into the yard she was cautious but still noticed the absence of the swallows.
     As she ventured out further into the yard she heard the sweet voice of Babette back at the house saying, "I told you so."
     Surely she was right, the finches had come to bring peace between Diane and the swallows because now the swallows were not behaving like tormenters. In fact, they were absent completely.
     God's messengers of truth take many forms. This time it came on the wings of birds for Diane and for us from the mouth of her son's girlfriend Babette.
     My husband and I gleaned the overflow from the story. As I told it to him, suddenly his positive attitude was restored and his whole countenance changed. He began to speak positive things, which will continue into the day of surgery, I know.
     Then my sister-in-law sent a wonderful story about a sandpiper. I knew the messages were sent to let us know that the birds in God's dimension, His angels, were already doing their jobs of giving wisdom to the doctors to bring perfect results to the surgery.
     We expected the best because we knew that peace would be in the waiting room, the operating room and the entire hospital. Peace benefits everyone involved, just like peace was brought to my friend and the swallows by the little finches.
     I love God's messages of faith.