Dear Ones,
  Hope you are enjoying this day! We are happy for another day of sunshine. This morning I made a lasagna and went downstairs for donuts, and Al went to Men’s group. This afternoon we have Bible Study here and we are blessed by the sharing each week.
  Devotions from Judy’s heart
 On Tuesday, I posed the question that I sent out with my daily devotion, asking if you have ever had a near death experience. It’s always a blessing to get back responses of how God’s intervenes in your lives and I will share a couple of those experiences. 
   One person wrote, “I was in a bad car accident in my early 20’s. I was knocked unconscious. I remember hearing in the ambulance that they couldn’t get a blood pressure reading and I thought well that means I’m dead. I wasn’t afraid, it was just a feeling of acceptance. I know now that when my time comes, I won’t be afraid. My time my eternity is in our Lords hands.”
   Another response was from Mary whom many of you have prayed for in the past. She fell on her wet bathroom floor after the cleaning lady didn’t replace the showerhead down after cleaning. It resulted in numerous hospitalizations and a near-death experience. She writes, “I had a near death experience in late December 2017 while in the hospital for my fall. I’d developed a lung infection with fluid. They took me to the cath lab to drain it, a routine procedure which went fine. But they did not leave me flat after. While wheeling me out I arrested. They worked on me for 8 minutes to bring me back. When they did, I was on a ventilator and my trachea had been punctured during that process. We all know where that led” ( since then she has had a trach stent and had to cover the hole in her neck when she wished to talk) “Four plus years later, we returned from Boston 2 weeks ago without my trach tube stent for the first time…something we didn’t know would ever be possible because I was not a candidate for tracheal reconstruction. But I had developed enough scar tissue to solidify my trachea and they pulled out the stent. They are hopeful it will remain open.” (She has a hole in her neck now which they hope will close naturally in about 6 months but for now she doesn’t have much voice.) She goes on to say, ‘‘We never know what lies ahead; I could have never imagined any of this journey. But it does teach us many things…earthly life is fragile and temporary, intentionally; live it to the fullest; know God is always with us every step of the way; He’ll never leave us; but heaven is our eternal destination. Whenever I go under anesthesia, I pray…God please let my medical team have the wisdom and skill to bring me back, if it’s in Your will. But if not, thank you Lord that I know I will be with You in heaven.”
   We are reminded that our life here is so temporary in light of eternity. Let us live each day for the Lord and not get encumbered with earthly things. He has set eternity in our hearts. (Eccl. 3:11).
   Challenge for today: Make preparations for eternity.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy
P.S. I just got this further word from Mary..”The one thing that stands out though is laying there in ICU and surrendering my earthly life to Jesus saying to myself ‘whatever You want Lord I believe in You. Your will be done. I accept whatever You have in store for me.’ Sometimes today I marvel at how easy that was and how much peace that brought me at the time. I had no fear, no anxiety. Just complete peace.”