"It's Over"

“It’s over.”

It has happened to me several times.  I would be thinking that a high quality, joyous life is just not possible for me anymore.

Most recently when I fell and broke my knee cap lose from my quad muscle on March 24, 2013, at about 1.30pm.  I couldn’t move my lower left leg to get up after falling down on my snowy driveway in Aurora, Colorado. 

“It’s over.”

I crawled on snow and ice to get to my garage. I asked my wife to call 911.  They came and hoisted me into the ambulance. After a few days of doctor visits and an MRI, I had surgery on my knee.  Dr. Soper and his nurses opened up my knee and put things back together on March 28, 2013.  He said, “The surgery went well.  It will take time, but you will be able to walk again after your rehab.  Don’t expect to walk normally for a long time.”

“It’s over,” wasn't true, but in fact, "It's a new reality."

Thomas was a follower of Jesus who seems to have thought, “It’s over.”

Let Scripture give you power with this passage.

John 20.24-25 But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.” The Message

But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.”

John 20:26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”

27 Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.”

28 Thomas said, “My Master! My God!”

On this Easter morning my heart is filled with thoughts like Thomas, “My God!”   

When I have my doubts, Jesus does not abandon me.  He comes to me to reassure me that “It’s not over.  It’s a new reality.”

The new reality is that:

-life with God’s blessing is like a wedding reception that goes on forever.

-people have freedom to believe or doubt.

-nations cannot stop belief in Jesus even though they have tried to stop the Good News for years.

-Scripture has staying power.  The famous atheist Voltare said that in a few years Christianity would be dead and the Bible would be forgotten.  100 years after his death, his house was used as a printing place for thousands of Bibles.

-Resurrection means that connection with our beloved ones who have passed is not over.

-Jesus' resurrection proves that His simple teaching is the right teaching.  Two commands with one emphasis is what counts.

=Love God with all your heart, soul and mind.

=Love your neighbor as yourself.

No, the thought, “It’s over” is wrong. 

For those of us who have chosen to believe in Jesus, it is simply a "new reality"

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392 days later I’m still not walking normally, but I can walk without a walker or a cane.   God has given me a great blessing.

It’s not over, but I have a new reality.

Jesus is risen!

Happy Easter!

Larry Wishard