A Stroke By The Master’s Hand

“Oh, Lord, I know it is not within the power of man to map his life and plan his course.” – Jeremiah 10:2

I could have never mapped out all of the intricate details of my life nor had the strength in myself alone to live the ups and the downs. It has taken a lifetime for me to begin to fully grasp and appreciate that the Master has designed every detail of the canvas of my life. With this understanding comes the perfect peace that all things do work out for the good for those that know and love Him.

The Heavenly Father continues to paint on my life’s canvas. He  is working on a masterpiece and has been working on it since the day of my birth, perfecting every detail accordingly to His master plan that was designed for me from before the foundation of time.

He has made use of various brushes, textures, and colors to bring forth His creation in me. From the beginning He allowed deafness to overtake me. Those colors reflected confusion and separation as laughter and ridicule overtook the child that talked funny. Then there was the gray storm clouds of sexual abuse as a child from a close family friend.

He created the bright colors of the joy of triumph as a champion skater to soften the agony of defeat in my days as a failure in my academics. He elevated me in my professional role at the FBI thus giving the world the TV series, Sue Thomas: FBEye.  In those days it was not all that it appeared to be.  Although I was successful at the FBI, in my spiritual life I was a miserable fugitive, wanted and pursued by God.

My faith in His Divine Plan went even deeper on the night of December 1st, 2017 when the Master while at work painting my life’s canvas, took one stroke of His brush and created a stroke in my cerebellum. In one instant my life changed as I knew it. I was unable to walk and swallow. I couldn’t even sit up on my own but kept falling to the right side.  My precious eyesight was affected with severe double vision.  By one stroke of the Master’s hand my life took on a new dimension and I had to let go of my own ideas and trust His hand that He always knows what is best for me.  I experienced first hand those words of Jeremiah, when he wrote, “it is not within my power to map my life nor to plan my course.”

In the last 2 months I have been recovering. I spent two weeks in the hospital, and then had home visits from the physical therapist. With physical therapy I am regaining my strength and re-learning how to walk. I can now climb fourteen stairs in my home with assistance. My throat and tongue muscles have slowly come back, and I can enjoy a meal and eat regular food again, although it is a slow process. Something I marvel at is that I did not lose my speech. To me this is so profound. It took many years for me to learn to speak, and in the stroke of a second it could have been lost. In God’s goodness and mercy He did not take from me my Gift from God and my Gift to God, my ability to speak. Since that day of the stroke of His hand, He has even given me 6 speaking appointments this spring, to proclaim Him and to make Him known!!!

“For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29: 11-13

What an exciting walk it is with the Master!  He has formed each of us in our mother’s womb and designed our lives before the foundation of time. Each and every minute is safely in His hands with the purpose always of leading us back to Him. He will use each situation to  reveal Himself to us that we may grow in understanding and wisdom.  This wisdom and understanding of Himself is His prosperity to us – such knowledge is wealth untold!

This latest stroke by the Master’s hand is teaching me to walk anew in my faith and understanding of Him.  Now I ask you, what situation are you facing, what crisis is in your life, that He has painted on your canvas today to bring you to Him in a deeper way?  Remember, all things are from Him, with Him and in Him. As He was in the beginning, now and ever shall be, world without end, AMEN!