Thanks for the info C. J.  I love when people are wise enough to listen to the Lord and reap the many blessing from the obediance.  Praise his Holy name.  

--
Can you imagine what a scarcity of news there would be If everybody obeyed
> the Ten Commandments?

I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't, and die to find out there is

IN GOD WE TRUST
Karen Carter  '74
-KC- Ministries


 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: CJ Daniel <[log in to unmask]>
> Hello,
> 
> My name is C J Daniel & I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to 
> welcome me to the list.  It seems that taking a few minutes to post something 
> about yourself, as a new subscriber, is traditional.  So without more fanfare, I 
> will attempt to do that, without taking up to much of your time, but in hopes of 
> covering the most salient points of my walk with Jesus Christ.  
> 
> I, like Phil, was blinded @ the age of nine-years by retinal detachments in the 
> early 70's.  I will fast-forward through the next thirty-years, for which you 
> can all be thankful, as there is not a lot that is holy or righteous to report 
> on during this period.  Generally speaking, I would say it was full of the 
> normal amount of stupidity & sin that is found in the day-to-day life of the 
> average back-sliding believer.  But, there were more interesting "valleys of the 
> Shadow" in my future.
> 
> In 2001 shortly after 9-11, my 4-year-old daughter, Sarah, was diagnosed with 
> trilateral retinal blastoma.  For those of you who don't know, this is a form of 
> the disease that spreads from the retinas to the pineal gland, which is located 
> in the center of your brain.  This form of the disease, unfortunately, has a 
> nearly universal mortality rate.  
> 
> I will not detail the year that followed Sarah's diagnosis.  I will simply say 
> that in the midst of great anguish there can be great joy & laughter.  In that 
> year, I saw a little hero struggle bravely with her fate.  She did, with dignity 
> & courage, what I doubt I could accomplish with even half of the grace she 
> displayed.
> 
> The night before she died in our home, I prayed that the Lord would take her.  
> She had already seen so very much, & we had been informed that her ending could 
> be extremely uncomfortable.  I didn't want to see her under-go anymore 
> suffering.
> 
> It was as if I felt a warm and golden light suddenly surround me as I prayed.  
> And, a voice inside me seemed to say, "I've only waited for you to be able to 
> let go."  @ that place & time, & in that circumstance, I knew the peace that 
> surpasses all understanding.  The next day @ noon with her family around her 
> bed, Sarah passed quietly to our Lord in heaven two-weeks in advance of all 
> medical predictions.  I learned, later that same day, that every adult present 
> had been praying @ the same time as myself, all be it separately, for Sarah's 
> release from her travail.
> 
> Within months of that passing, our family was dealt another body blow.  Sarah's 
> mom, who had shared a milder form of the ailment, was diagnosed with a 
> recurrence of the disease, after more than 30-years of remission.  The disease 
> led to major surgeries, chemotherapy, & many hospitalizations.  But most 
> insidious of all, it led to a general erosion of her personality, values, & 
> faith.  I learned later that this is not uncommon with cancer that effects the 
> brain or, surprisingly, the liver.  In the end she left myself & our two 
> surviving children.
> 
> I will not speculate overly much about her leaving.  In fact, I believe that 
> simply stated she had endured to much.  Her own illness coupled with the loss of 
> a much beloved daughter had taken its toll.  Also, my belief is that it does, as 
> the old saw says, take two to make a marriage.  I confess, fully, that  I bare a 
> measure of the blame for her confusion & disillusionment.  
> 
> However, I bare witness that throughout the time since Sarah's passing & that 
> prayer for her final deliverance, the Lord has comforted me.  He has made his 
> face to shine upon me.  I have clung to him as a small child clings to his 
> father.  And in these last few years, he has blessed me.  He has, indeed, led me 
> beside still waters.  He has made me to lie in green pastures.  Like Jobe, he 
> has restored me.  
> 
> A little more than a year ago, I met & married a woman who's first words to me 
> were, "can we pray."  We recently had a baby girl named, Juliana Katherine 
> Daniel.  Our blended family is a blessing to me each & everyday.  The Lord 
> continues to teach me through my little flock.
> 
> But more importantly, he continues to walk & talk with me.  He led me to leave 
> my job as Director of Client Services @ a small guide dog school in southern 
> California & move to Tucson, AZ.  Both I & my children have benefited immensely, 
> in ways I could have not predicted, by this God inspired move.  He has recently 
> opened doors that allow me to share the songs of worship that he has inspired me 
> to write.  In addition, I am soon to be a community group leader for my new 
> church.
> 
> I know that I have gone on overly long in writing this.  But, I am so excited 
> about what he has done for me that I just want to share my testimony with the 
> world.  Also, quite honestly, it is my way of sharing some of the things that I 
> learned from Sarah's passing.  I hope you all will forgive me for my verbosity.  
> I trust, I will not be so lengthy in the future.  I look forward to sharing with 
> each of you the love of our Lord.
> 
> In Him,
> 
> C J Daniel
> 
>