Goodbye "R2"

A couple of my buddies who do not read PrayFit won't get the benefit of knowing what I'm about to tell you, they'll just have to witness it first-hand. However, I had a small victory yesterday. And because we get personal at PrayFit, I somehow find myself at peace in sharing. Many of you have confided in me and in the community for prayer and praise, so it's my turn. Here I go. There's no turning back. I'm an open book.............................. Ok, so I don't mean to stall, but some of you know that a few years ago - between the two spine surgeries - I had the unfortunate experience of having a severe colon issue; a hereditary circumstance that required reconstruction and a lifetime left for me to deal with. (If I had my druthers, I would take a spine surgery each month in lieu of it.) Long story short, for the last 3 years, our home has been equipped with what my buddies affectionately named "R2D2." Go ahead and chuckle, it's fine. The guys have been able to get to the bottom of every joke possible.

Well - risking ridicule - yesterday I said goodbye to R2. I'd like to think I said farewell with no sympathy, but that wouldn't be completely true. Sentimental me is grateful for the life it has allowed me to continue. Shucks, leave it to me to tear up as I type, but why do I share such a personal triumph? Simple. To hopefully relate to some of you that are going through your own private hell. Someone reading this sentence endures something unspeakable each day, and if so, trust me when I say that I understand. If yesterday's entry "Time To Live" meant nothing to the majority, it meant something to someone, perhaps only to me.

But friends, we have no idea what people are going through, the battles they fight, the pain they endure. But when we - by the grace of God - overcome obstacles, hurdles and hurts, we're able to live again. Can anyone relate? Anyone want to join me in singing praises today? Jimmy Peña