Tag: journeythroughadversity

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A better me because of GBS

Someone asked me recently, if I could turn back time, would I go through this year again? The answer obviously is no way but I wouldn’t trade the lessons I have and continue to learn because of the story I now can tell about what it means to journey through adversity. I wear a wristband that simply says Transformed. I put it on back in the spring of 2018 after the Ravi Zacharias talk that Advanced Native Mission sponsored. Little did I know what this word would come to me for me less than a year later. They took it off me in the hospital and in rehab I replaced it for a bit with one that said “I Can I Will I Believe”

Not sure who or where I go it but it reminded me of what a Doctor friend said to me when I was first diagnosed. “God loves you, You will get worse before you get better, You are in the best place to be treated, and You will get better” From that moment, focused on yes i can get better because I believe. Not just because the doctors said so but because there was never a doubt God was going to be with me every step of the way. As I have written here before, I renamed my recovery the “180 Project” because I had two goals. 1) to do a complete turnaround physically while I got back into shape and 2) I wanted to my weight to once again be in the 180’s preferably 185) where it hadn’t been in a very long time. #1 has been accomplished and #2 is in sight. The Transformed wristband pictured here is back on my left arm but for different reasons than when I first put it on almost 2 years ago.

What I hadn’t spent much time on was how I would change as a person because of my Guillain Barre Syndrome diagnosis. The scripture tells us, in 2nd Corinthians 5;17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here! I now claim this verse in a whole new way. Romans 12:2 says, ” Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.  Guillain Barre Syndrome certainly put me through the test of accepting God’s will. As I have shared here before, I am grateful and out of that gratitude, I have chosen the word Generosity for 2020. I want to pay forward what others have done for us while I was sick and as I work toward a full recovery. Even this morning, two women in my church came up and shared how my renewed health has encouraged them in their own faith. What a blessing that was to me. That would be enough but there is so much more that is happening. My mind is being renewed and with that I am promised a new and better version of Michael Guthrie. Someone who realized how fortunate he is to be better but more importantly to have so many people in my life who truly care about me and my family. That fact is not lost on me and as the writer of Philippians shares, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it” and my own finish to this verse, but because of my own suffering and the adversity I faced, I am moving toward that ultimate goal of being the best version of myself through God’s grace and His mercy. As my brother Kevin reminds me often, “a little bit better each and every day”

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Learning to receive makes you a better giver

If this is your first time here I hope you will take the time to read previous blog posts or visit www.caringbridge.com/visit/michaelguthrie to learn about this blog came to be.

There are two streams of thought that I hope I can merge into one river of encouragement for those who have chosen to follow or happen upon this blog. First, I am learning that my guillain barre syndrome health challenge has become a blessing in my life. This experience has strengthened my faith. Joseph in the Old Testament was faced with one trial after another but time after time acknowledged, “The Lord was with me” I did while in the hospital and rehab and continue to experience His presence in my life. Genesis 50:20 paraphrased 🙂 “GBS intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the opportunity to encourage others” John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” The troubles I have gone through have given me a platform to inspire and lead others through whatever it is they are going through. Donald Miller talks about “transitioning from being the hero/inspiration in your story to becoming the guide for others to be heroes in their own stories.” If you were going on a hike or a fishing/hunting trip in some remote area, wouldn’t you want a guide who has been in that location many times before? My back story is being knocked down but not knocked out by my auto immune system going haywire. This meaningful journey through adversity and how I have been able to handle it, has enabled me to help others find their way through as well. Without my faith in God and having so many people offering their help, this would not have been possible which leads me to the second stream of thought. 🙂

I have always been motivated by the thought, “it is better to give than to receive” I hated the fact that I was selfish and still find it distasteful when it raises up in me even now. Christmas always brought this ugly trait out into the forefront. I would sit and watch others open their wonderful gifts but instead of being happy for my brothers, sisters, or my friends, I would always compare what I got and did it measure up to what others got. Focusing on others with a “How can I serve them” mentality diminishes my selfishness along with staying attuned to how blessed I am. I have so much for which to be thankful. Watching people time and time step up to help us in whatever way we needed has allowed me to see how many people really care about us. While not being able to move I was totally dependant on others and as I continue to work hard in hope of a full recovery, people continue to offer their assistance. My point is I now have a new understanding for “It is better to give than receive”. I now know what it feels like to have people visit you when you are sick or in the hospital. Dottie and I have both been recipients of so many acts of kindness that have buoyed us up over these last 9 months so we would not slip into discouragement. They have acted as examples of how to love others well. They have been the guides that God brought to us on our road to recovery at just the right times. We are indeed thankful for all things and it is the reason I call myself blessed. Everyone needs to be reminded that “The Lord is with them” My hope is you will be encouraged to go out and be that reminded for someone you know could use a helping hand.

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Our brain is really like a computer

My 12 days at UVA hospital were miserable. It was so frustrating to not be able to move and even more aggravating to not be able to sleep. Ask those who know me and they will tell you sleeping has never been a problem for me. My son-in-law Ben has a folder on his computer with photos of me sleeping pretty much anywhere. That was not the case for many days. Here is a post from my Caring Bridge site on the 10th day. “Dottie and I are so grateful for everybody’s love and support. Life has definitely thrown us a curveball, which unfortunately I never could hit very well….But with your wonderful words of encouragement and knowing God is with us, we will get through this. Please pray for continued movement….and a good night’s sleep.” Becca wrote, “He had a rough night last night and is having more difficulty finding that “comfy spot”.  The plan is to try some medications to help with nerve pain as well as some Tylenol, so we are praying for some more rest and comfort throughout the night tonight.” My son, JM wrote on “Dad is more and more uncomfortable with the small signs of improvement and an increased feeling and awareness. Dottie is doing her best to keep him relaxed and their love is tangible even in this time of struggle. ” 

Why do I share these things. Because a little more than 7 months later, these very tough days and nights are still etched in my mind but not as the minute by minute struggle they were at the time. I titled this post “our brain is like a computer” for a reason. Every so often, we need to defrag our computer so it can run faster. When you do that, the information you have saved does not go away, it gets compressed in some way to create more space for other programs to run. Psalm 30:5 says, ” For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. ” 2 Corinthians 4:17 says it a different way-
“For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison.” I am grateful that I am getting better but in a weird way I want my brain not to compress my memory of how I felt in the darkest of my time in the hospital and in rehab because I learned that God was there and His favor does last a lifetime. I also learned what a blessing it is to have people who truly care come along side to help in whatever way they were asked. As mentioned in an earlier blog post, by dealing with the adversity of Guillain Barre well, “I have been given a ticket to a place I would never have been able to go” I have become a different person. A quote from a friend on a different Caring Bridge says it best.  “I’ve spent deeply meaningful time with my family and closest friends. I’ve been a better father and husband. I’ve shared my story openly, and learned to let people help our family in ways big and small while looking to find ways to encourage and support others”. Dottie and I remain so thankful for your friendship and care. Your support gives us hope, comfort, peace of mind and encouragement during what has been a tough season.  We will not forget. We will always remember.

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An update on my road to recovery #180project :)

For those of you who have found this blog, you know it started with the encouragement of many who said I needed to write about what I have learned from having and now recovering from Guillain Barre Syndrome. I thought I would post this AM what I wrote the other day for those who have followed my journey via https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrie My hope is that I won’t post there any time in the near future but will share my “lessons learned” here instead. Here is what I wrote.

I am happy to write that this will hopefully be the last update here for quite a while.  No, I am not fully recovered but over the last six weeks, I have made significant progress.  The most recent pictures in the gallery tell the story.  1) my handicap parking permit expired yesterday and we see no need to renew it.  2) I recently accomplished a significant goal of running more than walking a 5K with my good friend Kaitlyn who participated with me after having a heart transplant in November of 2018.  (You can read more about this on my most recent blog post www.thankfulinallthings.com ) 3) I played 50 holes of golf this past Tuesday to help raise money for FCA/AIA and 4)  after 2 and 3, I was able to travel to Harrisonburg Wednesday to teach Realtors how to reach the full potential and the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people.  Many of you know my recovery has been renamed the 180 project.  I am happy to report that my weight is in the 180’s and I continue toward doing a complete 180 from not being able to move at all to being in the better physical shape than when I was struck with Guillain Barre Syndrome.  Dottie and I ask that you continue to pray for a complete (I am now at about 80%) recovery and hope you will follow my “lessons learned” by reading the blog I mentioned above.  We and our entire family are grateful, blessed, and so very thankful for your love and support.