The Salt of the Earth

The Salt of the Earth

The Wind blows and the Lord sprinkles the salt of the earth

Far across the horizons

It flows forth filled with the power of the Spirit

With the ability to penetrate deep wounds which fester

The Salt soothes these wounds

And Heals them completely

Each sprinkle falls upon those in need

And brings a shower of Hope

To all who are lost in a world of despair

Each grain brings a new flavor and nourishing richness

To a world which would otherwise be tasteless and unsatisfying

For the Lord quenches the thirst and His Bread feeds the soul

Of all those who are willing to follow in His Footsteps

We are led to him by the Followers

By those who are never afraid and are always willing

To take a hand and lead a friend down the road Home...

MM
1998

Recipe for the Soul

Joy is like the the flower in the garden.  It doesn't grow within us without cultivation, but when we seek to attain it despite all circumstances then what blossoms from within is utter Beauty.

     I wrote the above quote some time ago, and I really wanted to ponder it for a while.  In the past I have blogged about recipes for health and good living, but I can't help but think what is the "recipe for a healthy soul"?  Sure, joy is sometimes easy to attain in everyday life; spending precious time with our spouses, family and friends, watching our kids grow in each season of their lives, fun vacations,  relaxing time for ourselves, good food and wine are all on the top of my list and I'm sure everyone elses...but I wonder how many others continue to have a  joyful heart in the midst of the miseries and heartaches of life? We are all a product of genes, environment and the life circumstances that shape who we are.  Yet while some drown and try to drown others in the process, there are those who find a way to rise about it all and be survivors.

     Sometime ago I had a patient who I will call Annie who was in her seventies.  She had, by anyone's standards, a rough life.  She grew up in a rural southern town, and suffered many abuses as a child.  Her mother was an alcoholic.  Her family grew up among violence and guns and they lived in a very unsafe environment.  Her home was constantly under assault.  When she was just seven years old, while bickering with her younger sister, her older sister became enraged and hit her over the head with a hammer in order to break up the fight.  Annie lay there on the ground unconscious for several hours until her mother finally found her.  In her mother's drunken state she told Annie to go to her room and rest and that she would be fine.  Her mother was also a product of this violent, unstable lifestyle.

     Martin Luther King Jr said "Darkness cannot drive out darkness only Light can do that; Hate cannot drive out hate, only Love can do that."  Fortunately for Annie she was able to learn that love, not hate, was the answer.  Annie, still to this day, suffers from seizures as a result of the childhood trauma, however her soul found a way out of that darkness.  Through a strong faith in God, and His Love from others in her life she became a survivor.  To this day she is a person who emits Light, Peace and Joy from her spirit. 

     Annie possessed what we know as the Fruits of the Spirit.  Love, Joy, Peace, Faithfulness, Self Control. These are not qualities that are easily obtainable in the earthly sense.  The world we live in can sometimes seem to thrive on the bitter fruits of the earth; fear, destruction, doubt, distrust, anger, jealousy, loss of control....You only need to turn the news on everyday to see that the world has gone mad.

     I have always had a calling to be a doctor.  For me, my goal has always been to help heal individuals and save lives.  However, as I have gone through my years in practice, I have realized that I cannot truly save people.  I can treat diabetes, high blood pressure and other medical ailments as well as prescribe antidepressants for mental health.  However, when it comes to the state of the soul, I somehow feel lost as to how to help individuals in this department.  When it comes to the "sickness of the soul", I am just the one who puts on the bandaid.  My job, like yours, is to just love others.  That is ok with me now because I know that for someone to really have a healthy soul, they must come to that crossroads in their lives where they realize that life is incomplete..they must be on the edge of Brokeness.  When you reach this point of no return there is only one recipe for the soul....the Love of God and all of His Believers.

     Even with a Christian faith it sometimes seems impossible to love the unloveable, yet this is what we are called to do.  We are all human and fall into the trap of judging others when it is really not our jobs to do so.  This is what happens when we create and become our own religion.  People have become so divided into their little sects, social groups, political groups and cultures that it seems impossible to understand one another.  At least in America, we are all in the same country but all speaking, literally, a different language.  We are in the modern day Babel.
     Fortunately for us, God speaks all of our languages.  He breaks down barriers. When we accept and Love God unconditionally, we are able to find our way Home.  The Bible was written over a span of 1500 years by various authors who, under divine inspiration, recorded God's Words.  This is His Written Language.  For those who Know, Love and Accept Him into their hearts.. His Language becomes forever engraved into our hearts and lives in us..He is the Roots and we are the Branches...The branches that continue to grow spreading Peace, Love and Joy to all of those who are in need....and this is simply the only recipe that I know for a healthy soul..#food4thought #food4thesoul

    

    

Life Perspectives from a 40 Something year old

Be true to who you are and the person God made you to be.  Love yourself fully despite the imperfections that you see in the mirror.  Those imperfections don't define you...they define humanity

Let go of the toxins in your life.

Anything that rules over you and is detrimental to your peace and health does not belong with you.

Don't chase someone else's dream.  You can chase butterflies and dreams in your own backyard.

Be a real friend.  Sometimes that means tough Love...saying things openly and honestly but always with a loving and unselfish Heart.

Learn from your children and your mothers and fathers.  Enjoy the simple things in life.  As my mom has always said "play in the sunlight and dance in the moonlight."

Be in the moment...and sometimes that means not capturing a Kodak moment.

Always give it your best shot.  You might not succeed in the way that you thought you would, but trials make you stronger and give you a fresh perspective on life.

Don't look down on others.  Look up to the downtrodden.  They need your hope and your inner light...and they just might teach you something that brings you back to Life.

Give with a Loving Faithful Heart even when you think that you have nothing left to give.  Its in these moments that you give all of yourself that you receive the greatest Peace of mind.

Prioritize your life.  Put God and your family first always.

Remember that life does not always present itself in neatly wrapped packages...Embrace the Journey, for it is in these unraveling moments  that you will learn to live outside the box.

Don't take yourself too seriously.  Laugh at yourself.  Live life. Love fully.  Amore


MM



Why We Run

     I have a love-hate relationship with running.  From the pain of training, the anticipation of the starting line, the struggles in between and the elation of the finish line.  After all, doesn't running echo all these moments in Life?
     So why do we run?  I believe we run because we are competitors.  We run because we are survivors.  We run to the ones we love.  We run from our fears.  Sometimes we run from ourselves.  From the beginning of time, running has been a God given protection from the terrors that loom behind us.
     But in Life, like running, despite all the pain and struggles there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and the finish line ahead.  The philosopher in me also contemplates that we might run to Know God.  We run to be in His Shoes.  We run to understand the struggles and suffering of His Human Being.  This is the self-induced Cross we choose to carry.  But in the end, even in our moments of weakness, He always carries us to that finish line...So I will pick up my cross and run to Him over and over again through all the Paths of Life

M.McMahon MD

Restoration

 

 

Restoration

 

May the changing Tides bring you cleansing

 

May you be carried over that Mountain that seemed too steep to climb

 

May the children Hunger no more...may their bellies be full and may they be filled with smiles and Laughter and Love

 

May the Lost and Brokenhearted find His Eternal Love and Peace

 

May the women no longer hide behind Darkness...may they show their Beauty and Light

 

May the men retreat in Peace and return to their families

 

May His Light Shine Forever on this Earth

 

May He Restore us to that place of no want

 

 

M.McMahon

 

 

#theLordismyShepherd  #Isaiah61 #Oaksofrighteousness

BFF

     We live in a world of social media surrounded by what I call "ghost friends".  Perhaps they are better known as "cyber friends".  These are the friends that are there in the shadow of wedding anniversaries, showers, baptisms, graduations etc.  In all the happy times,  they are there to cheer us on, and send their approval ie. "like"... everytime anything positive happens in our lives. Yet, when those darker times come over us, the social media world becomes silent.  After all, who wants to hear about a divorce, a miscarriage, the loss of a job, financial difficulties, an illness, a death? These are the things that we must deal with in the quiet of our own hearts. 
     I am not making a judgement here because I know I have also been a "ghost friend" to some.  In the bustle of life it becomes very easy to lose track of other loved ones lives and troubles.   It is hard enough to make sense of our own lives sometimes.
     A few years ago a dear friend of mine that I had known for twenty years committed suicide.  I had seen or talked to her on multiple, brief occasions before her death, and I never realized how much torment she was going through. I am haunted by this now because I realize that I was, at that time, a  "ghost friend" to her.  I was there to cheer her on for her new job endeavors, her childrens' academic and sport successes, yet I never once realized the dark place that she was in.  This saddens me because despite the access that we have to social media and telecommunications, we live in a very disconnected world.
     I don't pretend to have all the answers.  I can only follow my heart and hope to hear the voice of God.  Because I know that if I do, I just might be there for someone who just needed a real life friend to hold their hand and listen.... <3 BFF
    
    
    
    

Field of Dreams

     Perhaps one of the most difficult cases of my medical career that I have ever encountered was that of a late teenage boy who I will call Jacob.  He presented to me one night when I was on call in the emergency room.  Jacob had been born with severe mental retardation and craniofacial deformities, and he never physically and or mentally progressed beyond the stage of toddlerhood.  The first time I stepped into the room to examine him, I had to hold back my tears.  What I saw in front of me was not a boy.  He looked almost alien to me.  His head was severely enlarged and deformed, and he probably weighed no more than fifty pounds.  He had undergone craniofacial surgeries as an infant.  I was shocked to find that he had no feeding tube.  His parents had fed him all these years.  Despite his appearance, his parents informed me that he had never really had a major hospitalization since his earlier years as an infant.
     This time, however, Jacob was critically ill.  He had presented with high fevers and respiratory distress, and he had pneumonia with septic shock.  All of his vital signs and laboratory data told me that he had little chances of survival.  His parents made the decision that they would not place him on a ventilator with a breathing tube, however they wanted other measures such as fluids and antibiotics administered to try to save his life.
     Initially I really struggled with his parents' decision.  What I saw in front of me was a dying boy who appeared to be suffering in a tiny body that seemed to be more of a prison.  I wondered what his parents' intentions were.  Could they not see what I saw?  What type of life were they trying to preserve?
     I took care of Jacob for several days in the hospital and really came to know his parents well.  They were incredible individuals.  I learned that Jacob had been adopted from birth.  His parents had also adopted several other children with various physical and mental problems throughout the years.  They had a strong Christian faith, and their mission in life had been to serve abandoned and orphaned children with various medical problems.  As my own daughter is also adopted, I felt an instant bond to this particular couple.  However, what astounded me is that these children that they adopted were not what I considered normal.  My daughter had a healthy and normal childhood development.  The children that this couple cared for all had major medical issues.  Many of them had already passed away during their early toddler years.
     I saw on a daily basis the deep love and bond that this couple had for Jacob.  I am quite sure that it is this bond of love that sustained this fragile boy for all these years.  There are no studies that I know that can prove this fact, but for Jacob to have had such a severe presentation and still be living was, in fact, a miracle.  Day after day I was astounded that despite his severe pneumonia, shock and kidney failure, he continued to breathe on his own and his little fragile heart continued to beat.
     I realized that his parents were struggling to let him go.  One of his parents was by his side day and night.  I believe that Jacob continued to hear them and feel their presence, and that is why he was still here on this earth.  Jacob did not want to leave his parents.
     This case continued to haunt me.  I questioned whether I had made the right decision.  Should I have encouraged them to give more aggressive care from the beginning?  They had made it clear that they did not want him on a ventilator or with intensive care measures, but his parents were not ready to accept pure comfort care.  I believe that they were still looking for a miracle.
     One night I began to pray about this case.  As I prayed, a vision came over me.  I saw a boy in a field of gold, and he was kicking a red soccer ball.  As he turned around I saw his face.  It was Jacob, however, his face had been transformed.  It was the face of a perfect angelic little boy.  He smiled at me, and then ran through the field of gold and disappeared.
     After I had this vision, I struggled whether I should tell Jacob's parents of it.  Deep inside I knew that I needed to inform them.  When I walked into the room that day, his parents and grandparents were by his side.  They had been praying over him.  They were still struggling with letting him go.  I told them of the vision, and that I felt it was time to let Jacob go.  His mother burst into tears but she knew at that instant that this was the sign that she was praying for.  His family said their goodbyes to Jacob.  Jacob was enrolled on hospice, and shortly after he passed away.
     I still think of Jacob.  When I see him now, I do not see him as that alien of a being.  I see a perfect little boy running with a red soccer ball through a field of gold.  I realize now that this is the way that his parents always saw him.  Their unconditional love never visualized a boy with deformities or disabilities.  They saw their son.

May he rest in Peace in his Field of Dreams

M. McMahon MD