[March 23, 2025] Those of you who have known me for a while have heard me speak of my life verse:

1 Thessalonians 5:24 – “Faithful is He who called you, He will make it happen.”

Knowing God’s will in my life has been a pursuit of mine. To do God’s will is what brings my Heavenly Father honor and how I can worship Him.

In my humanity, I have had moments that were a crisis of faith. I don’t mean doubting my relationship with Him. My crises were wondering about a new direction to go. After posting on Facebook for the first time in years, the next day I was put on hold.

A number of things accumulated to shut me down. My daughters needed some end-of-life decisions in legal forms on record. The next day at a visit to my doctor, he mentioned hearing a heart murmur.

He scheduled me for an echocardiogram that was three weeks off. My mind drifted to all the cardiovascular surgeries my father had from his heart attack when he was in his mid-50s.

What came to mind next was his pain with coughing while holding a pillow to his chest. Then I heard someone tell me that a heart murmur was blood flow leaking past the aortic valve in the heart.

His heart repair for his condition was a pig’s heart valve transplanted into his heart. The man was told that the status of that surgery was usually good for ten years. His surgery had been eleven years ago. His decision since he was in his 80s was to not pursue any intervention, looking forward to living all the days the Lord gave him.

Then my mind jumped to my 80th birthday in June: Isn’t this a stupid idea to write a book at my age?

As I prayed for the Lord’s peace, the Spirit of God began to bring to mind the counter to my fears. I had six major surgeries and had learned how to regulate my pain so that none of them were as I had been picturing them to be, like my father’s experience.

My precious friend, Wil Anderson, came to mind of him writing after the age of 80, including one book in Spanish that was for pastors to use in premarital counseling.

Next, I was reminded of the genetic tendency for me to have longevity with both my mother and my grandfather living to 94 years of age.

Okay, God, I get it! My time is in your hands! Since You have shown me Your faithfulness in my life, I will go forward, trusting You to make this happen.

The Lord has already begun this project; He led me to find writing support from Lewis Alexander.