Jesus Is All the World To Me

I am the kind of person who likes to know what I am dealing with. I ask a lot of questions and I read what I can about it.

One time, our van needed the spark plugs changed. My Jimmy is a wonderful husband and talented in many ways, but working on cars is not his thing. Well, we didn't have the money to take it to a shop, and I have always like to work on cars and have helped my dad and brothers before, so I decided that this was one job that I could handle. I got the Ford manual book out of the library, studied how to do it, and went and bought the parts. I was very confident and excited as I opened the hood. There was only one small problem, I could only find 3 of the spark plugs. I had no clue where the other ones had gone too! Thankfully, our deacon came to my rescue and helped me finish the job (and find the spark plugs!)

After they told me that I needed to research the medications for MS, then I decided that if I was going to research MS, I was going to know everything about it. I have exhausted the Cincinnati library system of all of their MS books, have read everything online that I can find about it from physicians manuals, to scientific journals, to forums of people that live with MS every day. The forums have been a real eye opener because it is real people that talk about real problems that we all understand because we too live with it. Doctor's can only go by what you tell them and what the textbooks tell them. People that have MS, live in their bodies every day and I assure you they can tell you a lot more than the doctors can.

However, one thing that has saddened me is the depths of despair that some people are living in. Statistics show that suicide is the #1 cause of death in MS. People talk about the horror of the unknown future, the frustration of their daily lives and how they are tired of living it, the many avenues they have gone down looking for a cure and their despair at not having found it, and the overall feeling that they are licked. In fairness, there are those out there who are positive and you can tell are trying to keep their chins up, but overall the attitude is very sad.
As I read about these people's lives, I am constantly reminded of how thankful I am that I am a Christian. Not only because that secures my future, but because it has provided me such a constant comfort, knowing that I can turn to my Heavenly Father and leave my burdens and fears with Him. Such sweet peace comes from simply trusting it all to Him. I cannot imagine going through life in the good times without the Lord and I especially cannot imagine going through the valleys without Him. As my friend in England says, "No disease can take God's grace from you." How true that is. It can't take my joy, my peace, my security, my hope - because HE is all those things to me and as long as I have Him, I am whole. I am so thankful that Jesus truly is all the world to me!

Jesus is all the world to me, my life, my joy, my all;
He is my strength from day to day, without Him I would fall.
When I am sad, to Him I go, no other one can cheer me so;
When I am sad, He makes me glad, He’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me, my Friend in trials sore;
I go to Him for blessings, and He gives them over and o’er.
He sends the sunshine and the rain, He sends the harvest’s golden grain;
Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain, He’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me, and true to Him I’ll be;
O how could I this Friend deny, when He’s so true to me?
Following Him I know I’m right, He watches o’er me day and night;
Following Him by day and night, He’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me, I want no better Friend;
I trust Him now, I’ll trust Him when life’s fleeting days shall end.
Beautiful life with such a Friend, beautiful life that has no end;
Eternal life, eternal joy, He’s my Friend.
~ Will L. Thompson