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Gleanings From The Word   Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life   IDOLS My Personal Testimony Many people are familiar with the biblical account of Jonah and his three days inside the great fish. What they may not know, is a pearl of wisdom contained in that story, which is applicable to our everyday lives; Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. Jonah 2:8 NIV Most people will tell you that we live in a sophisticated, Western country and that idolatry is certainly not a problem in their lives. You don’t often run across a home or workplace with a statue devoted to some deity or another, but idols come in many shapes and forms. They often manifest themselves in the activities that we pursue the most. I know that for many years it was that way for me. I worshiped the idol named Success. I was so busy being "successful" my career as a commercial banker that I didn't have a clue about the truth. I didn't realize that I wasn't much of a husband or father. I wasn't a bad father, or a bad husband just too selfish and busy to be a good one. I had no time for or need of God. If some weak person needed to believe such foolishness as a crutch to get by, then that was their problem. Personally, I doubted that there even was a God. My wife and I had a nice home, two cars and good careers going. I was speaking to business groups, sitting on boards, coaching baseball and upgrading my education. I was doing pretty well for myself, with heavy emphasis on self. With only a grade 12 education and some industry specific training I had worked my way up through several layers of management in the bank  and was doing well. I was a self made man, who had recognized some opportunities, and managed to take advantage of them. When two serious car accidents in 1991 caused both my wife and I traumatic brain injuries, it finally got through that I didn't have it all together. I wasn't as secure or self reliant as I had thought. It took several years before the true extent of my injuries were diagnosed. I watched my abilities deteriorate without understanding why. My emotions ran amuck. My career crashed. My health fell apart. Our marriage was crumbling around us. We went through several extended periods where there was no income coming in as we battled with various insurance companies. Our savings and investments were used up and our debt load soared. When I went off on disability leave, I was dropped from the loop at work and socially. I no longer had things in common with those I had considered my friends and heard from them less and less. I had become disabled or to be more politically correct I had become a person with exceptionalities. There is a high degree of social stigma attached to being disabled. Many people become uncomfortable around you when they realize that you have a disability. I didn't even know who I was anymore. I had defined myself by my job and that was gone. My financial safety net was gone. Everything I thought I was and had evaporated. More than once I planned the way to take my own life because I thought my family would be better off without  me. Somewhere in the middle of all that blackness I began to realize that there was a God and that He did care for me. He was more than a crutch, He was the whole hospital, emergency ward, long term care ward and all. I accepted Jesus and over time laid my worries at His feet. Things did not get better instantly nor did all the problems just go away, but He gave me the strength to keep going. I still struggle with health limitations and problems associated with my injury. I have to balance my life and take a number of medications to have some kind of a normal lifebut He was, and continues to be, very faithful in meeting our needs in wondrous ways. He is there. All the thingsI had relied on did not save me. Only His love did. Without Jesus I would not still be married, perhaps I would not even be still alive. For a long time, the idols I pursued kept me from finding the grace of His love. What are you worshipping? Until next time, may you find the love of Jesus if you have not already. God bless, Kevin If this touched your heart and you would like a personal relationship with Jesus, PLEASE email me. I will share a few Bible verses and a brief prayer with you to make it possible.