Another day of being sustained by God upon your prayers! I am so blessed these last few days with some strength, no sickness/infections, food tastes good even...but best of all I have a sense of incredible closeness to you and God. As mother's day approaches I am reminded of the heart of a mother...naturally self-sacrificing, looking to the concerns of her loved ones above herself...a mother just exudes the love Christ has for us. I think the fullness of a mother's love is never truly appreciated until our own experiences in life become deep enough to really see her inner beauty. Sometimes we strain at a picture of a mother or loved one or a friend in a season of God's preparation of the beauty God is working on just beneath the surface and if we are not patient with our loved ones, forgiving and compassionate, we can turn away with the image of that beauty concealed and miss the revealing of the work God is really doing. Let me put it this way...I have been afforded a 7x7 window out of my hospital room that looks out and up into the Manaloa Valley...this is an extreme blessing to me for the valley holds many wonders, in fact, treasures are everywhere I look. One of the treasures is a special species of eucalyptus tree. Out of over 700 species of these trees, originally from Australia, Hawaii has developed its own unique species. It is called "rainbow eucalyptus" and oh how appropriately it is named. At times the ordinary outer bark peels back to reveal an explosion of brilliant rainbow colors that are a delight to behold. The curious thing is that the rainbow bark is not always fully exposed. In fact, at times the bark seems ordinary, dull, anything but brilliant and beautiful. This is a lesson for us. Sometimes our moms may not seem to be all that beauty and brilliance...sometimes our friends let us down, sometimes people are just in that place where on the surface they don't look all that beautiful...perhaps our relationships are strained, maybe they even seem broken, but that place is temporary...it's just God preparing the inner beauty of that rainbow eucalyptus, later to peel off that bark and reveal the marvelous treasure inside. Perhaps we should leave some room for moms and friends and loved ones to be prepared inside by God during those harder times in our relationships and perhaps it is better for us all to always look and remember all the times those moms , loved ones and friends have shined through to reveal those brilliant rainbow colors that enhance and enrich our lives daily. It is my prayer today that you will join me in giving thanks to all the rainbow eucalyptus trees out there in our lives, especially our moms.

You all continue to be such wonderful support and a source of inspiration to me as we wait upon the Lord to deliver His miracle! Again and again I never cease to be overwhelmed by your love and support. Every card, gift, letter, prayer, good thought, e-mail and blog post is noted and embraced with deep gratitude and a sense of more love, more concern and more care than any one man should ever have. I am steadfast in the Lord, living for His glory alone, for my life is His to use as He pleases.

Love forever in Him
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