Since there is much time between Jake resting sometimes, I find myself wandering the halls of the hospital meeting people in waiting rooms. I ask who they have here, what the circumstances are, can I pray with them or just listen and encourage them. Hospitals are the great equalizers, aren't they? Doesn't matter where you come from, what job you have, how big your house is, what kind of car you drive. In my quiet time, I've been reading about Viktor Frankl. Viktor is a holocaust survivor who spent his time in four different concentration camps. He watched as his family died, including his pregnant wife. His experience there was as horrible as everything you can imagine. Out of that time, he birthed an amazing literary work. Here is a quote from his book Man's Search For Meaning, "We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Powerful isn't it? The first person that came to mind is a man that I respect and admire more than he'll ever know, Troy Hallmark. Troy has been battling illness for sometime now but you wouldn't know it by his attitude. Troy inspires others with lessons learned along the journey. He even finds the time to encourage others one on one. He sent me a message just the other night for Jake. He is a teacher, he is a motivator, he is a cancer patient but he refuses to have his freedom taken; in turn he has blessed many of us with this priceless gift of wisdom. Troy offers us comfort, though he may be uncomfortable himself. He offers us his piece of bread, even when he needs to eat. He has chosen his freedom, his own way. Anything is possible. Though our situations seem dire and hopeless--attitude is everything. It's how we back in to a situation that counts and what we're willing to make of it. Are we going to be victims of circumstance or will we like Troy choose freedom?
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and
do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Galatians 5:1
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