Soul Surfing

Tonight, I took my cousin, Ashlee, to see Soul Surfer with Eryn at The Palace. My favorite aspect of the movie was its motto: "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." I enjoyed that the entire movie was based on God's strength. There should be more movies out like that one.

One point the movie touched on was putting things into perspective. After Bethany had lost her arm, all she could think about was how she couldn't surf again. However, after she visited the Philippines, she realized there are more things to life than worrying about the little things. She decided she wanted to go back to surfing to continue to do what she loved, because not everyone has that opportunity.

This hit hard for me today. This morning, I checked my INR blood level and I was 1.6. When I heard that, I was shocked. I wasn't allowed to exit the hospital until I was a 2.0 or higher, so being below scares me. My past blood levels were 2.4, 4.5, and 3.8 since leaving the hospital, so jumping 2.2 in 6 days upsets me. This has been a struggle so far and I had lost faith in my ability to keep a stable number.

After leaving the hospital this morning, I was extremely discouraged. All I could think about is how inconsistent my numbers have been and how close I am now to what I was in the hospital. Why is this such a struggle for me?

After watching the movie tonight, I realized I have been focusing too much on how much trouble I am having with keeping my blood at the optimal thickness. There are so many other things in this world to worry about, that why I am so worried about that? There are people who don't have a roof over their heads, or even the access to medicine to keep them alive, and I am complaining because I am not able to keep my numbers are not consistent. That is not okay.

It's funny how seeing a simple movie can change your perspective. I know it was God speaking to me, showing me that He is in control and that I should be worrying about bigger things. I love it when that happens. God is great and I wish more people believed that.