Yeah, Yeah…I know. It’s about time I posted something new.

Is it possible to create a list detailing the number of positive versus negative leaning posts? That little voice in the back of my head and the 8-ball app are both telling me, “Odds are not in your favor.” Figures.

If I look back upon the posts made as a historical record of my childhood, it is unfortunate that most of those are filled with clearly negative topics. Some go beyond the word “negative” and straight to “disturbing”. Pleasant memories or disturbing…they are me. They are the good and the bad all squished together over time, like clay in God’s hands (yeah, I could have chosen a better cliché), creating the person I am today.  No guarantees are offered as to the person I may be tomorrow. Simply put, none of us can make such a guarantee as we have no guarantee we’ll even be here tomorrow.

There you have what’s on my mind of recent days…weeks…months. My faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior is the only item in my life that “I” consider as guaranteed. There are many holding the same beliefs alongside me, as well as  a great multitude who consider me (or us) somewhat deranged for such beliefs.

I’d like to explain the image attached to this post. This past Thursday, I had an appointment with my pulmonologist. The night before, I created an updated list of my medications. Along the left side of the spreadsheet I keep a tally of prescriptions (Rx), durable medical equipment (DME), and over-the-counter items. Many items on this list fall into multiple categories. However, I would like to leave you with the number “50”.

Time…Keeps On Ticking…Sometimes.

Around 4:30pm this afternoon…twenty years ago (sounds like the beginning of a Country song)…I gave my kids what I thought could be the last hug ever. The nurses then stole me away to parts unknown within Vanderbilt University Hospital where they prepped me for a bi-lateral lung transplant.

Only by the Grace of God do I offer a reason for my statistical abnormality against the medical establishment’s “mortality rates”. As I told “an old friend” recently, “Fifty percent of the folks who received a lung transplant around the same time I did…they’ve been dead for fifteen years.” (Note: Updated to meet today’s date.)

The ride continues to be a bumpy one. It is full of great times…and to be completely honest…crappy ones.  It’s always my prayer that should I see the sunrise, I recite, “Lord, thank You for another day with my wife, my children, my family, and my friends. Please keep watch over those I love. Thank You for all of the blessings You continue to provide to an undeserving soul. Amen.”

Today is just a tick of the clock…nothing changes.