My Friend Larry, A Man of Incredible Faith

My friend's Larry and Deb Sherman moved to Myrtle Beach several years ago. Larry and Deb were a critical part of Mosaic's birth and infancy years. Larry was one of the original elders at Mosaic. Deb continues to serve as our webmaster from low country to this day! They are deeply committed Christ-followers who are passionate about ministry. A little over a month ago Larry began to have some problems with his eyes. He has since been diagnosed with an auto immune disease that affects his sight. He wrote the following article for the local newspaper. I thought it might inspire and encourage others as it has me. Enjoy and please pray for my friends Larry and Debbie.

God Why Did This Happen To Me?

Life is good...I play golf twice a week; Friday nights at Brookgreen listening to music, Saturday Nights at the pool with friends and Sunday afternoons at the beach soaking up the sun. Yes..Life is good.

Then all of a sudden on a Monday morning everything changes. I wake up with double vision, so I call my doctor to find out what’s going on. I go to the doctor and he gives me the once over and then begins:

“Double vision can be caused by any number of problems and we need to start at the top and rule out each of the possible sources one at a time.” (Makes since to me.) “First we will need for you to get two MRI studies to rule out a brain tumor”, he says, (whoa Nelly! This is getting serious) so I ask just what are the things that we are trying to rule out. “First we need to rule out brain tumor, because of an existing thyroid condition, I think you are looking at a Pituitary tumor that is putting pressure on the optic nerve, but it could also be an aneurism putting pressure on the optic nerve. It is possible you have Diabetes, MG or several other conditions of the eye...He went on naming things which I could not pronounce or spell. That is when the first question hit me: "God, Why is this happening to me?”

One week later, to the day, I am lying on the table being rolled into the MRI machine, listening to an easy listening station, when the second question hit me: God, What do you want me to learn from this experience? About that time the song changes on the earphones and I am now hearing the familiar words to an old song, “I just called to say I love you, I just called to say I really care”. I immediately think, “God could you have found a less expensive way to tell me you love me, this experience is costing me a couple of thousand dollars”.

I tell God, “You know I have been yours for over 58 years, I know you love me, but this cannot be the reason I am lying in this MRI machine. “ He does not answer. So after waiting a week to have the MRI studies and three days for the results, and imagining all of the worst case scenarios about what this is going to mean for me, the nurse calls and says that both MRI studies are negative and the doctor is referring me to a Neuro-Ophthalmologist for further treatment. She says the Doctor’s office will call and schedule an appointment with me.

When the phone finally rings, the receptionist on the other end says “Mr. Sherman your doctor has requested a consult; our earliest opening is in four weeks. “I swallowed hard, twice, and then gently in my most serene voice I said, “Is that the earliest you have, I have been dealing with this double vision for 10 days and it seams to be getting worse by the day, in four more weeks I will be TOTALLY BLIND, not to mention I won’t have any clients left” She informs me this is the best she can do, I can take the appointment or not. Deb had already done some research to find neurologist that also specialize in ophthalmology and you guessed it this guy is the only one in this entire coastal area. She schedules me for that appointment and then says she will call if there is a cancellation. At this point, I am beginning to come unraveled. I need to pray.

“God, I know I am supposed to learn some spiritual truth from this trial, some purpose. You know I have placed my life in your hands so whatever the outcome is, I submit my life to your will. If you think I need to wait 4 weeks in order to learn patience, I will do that, but could you remember all the other times you have tried to teach me patience in the past and speed this waiting up.? I have been waiting in agony for 10 days, and I’m scared about the future. I love you LORD and I resolve to place my life in your hands once again, and have faith that you will be in control and take care of me no matter what I must endure. I promise I will not try to handle everything by myself again. “

At the moment I finished my prayer, the phone rang and the receptionist on the other end said “Mr. Sherman I spoke to the doctor about your dilemma. He said he will see you during his lunch hour today if you can get here and bring a copy of you MRI by 12:30. “I fumble for my words astonished at what I am hearing, “Yes ma’am, you bet, I will be there at 12:30 pm sharp”
I hung up the phone and breathed this prayer, “God, you answered my prayer even before I prayed it, thank you for loving me like you do.” Ok its 10:30, I have to call the Imaging Center and get them to give me a CD with the MRIs and get to his office on the other side of the grand strand...I rushed downstairs and told Deborah what had just happened, we jumped into the car and made the trip.

Of course I want a magic pill to get rid of my problem so I don’t have to think about it anymore...but instead he tells me I need more diagnostic testing. The bills are adding up.
The symptoms are bad enough, but add on the waiting, the fear and the uncertainty. And to top it all off you don’t know if you can trust the doctors you’ve chosen since you’re fairly new to the area. Man! God you’re giving me a workout. So with a little tap on my shoulder God once again reminds me that he loves me and is in control in the form of a phone call...It’s my niece, who just happens to be a neurologist from Duke, telling me she is at Pawley’s on vacation. As I am telling her “how I am”, she says Larry bring your MRI CD down here and I’ll examine you and review your studies. God is so good and faithful.

The next morning, I gave blood for the $1700 dollars worth of “diagnostic studies” that would take ten days to complete...more money and more waiting. If you’ve never been self employed you take for granted all of the nice insurance perks that you get with a large company. You have to pay for your insurance package without the buying power of a large group policy. Deductibles are generally high and the insurance package doesn’t have as many perks. All of this to say it was gonna be a BIG bill. God nudges me again with an unexpected check from the U.S. Treasury Dept. for overpaid taxes in the exact amount to cover the diagnostic studies to date...Again I say God is so good and faithful to his children.

The nurse calls on the 10th day, July 3rd at 5:00 pm, with the results. I will go back to the doctor for treatment options (of course there was more waiting involved since tomorrow was July 4th). Finally the doctor prescribed the magic pill (or so I hoped.) The first dose after 3 hours I was seeing much better, not perfect yet, but manageable. I am still adjusting the medicine to the proper dose to achieve a full day of good vision. I will most likely have to take this medication for the rest of my life, and believe it or not...it is not that expensive, thank you God.

By nature I am a very private person, I do not like to share these types of personal experiences with everyone even though we all have them, but I am telling you the details of this experience to magnify how God has worked in my life and taken care of me in not only the big ways but in the small ways. So I think the answers to my questions are this...

· Trust God in all things, he loves you more than any person ever could. He planned your purpose long before you were born, he knows the past, the present and the future and certainly what is best for you...so why do we constantly try to blindly make decisions on our own, we don’t know anything for sure. Jeremiah 1: 5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;

· If you have faith in Christ and place your trust in his ability to take care of you, you will not fear death, but see it as a doorway into a perfect life with the Creator. And you sure won’t waste time worrying about things you can’t change. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Matthew 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?

· God has known us before we were born. In scripture we are taught to search for God, Jeremiah 29:12-13 says then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.