The Kidney Stone

There is an interesting fraternity of sorts among some men.  Strangers who otherwise may never have met have an immediate connection when this subject comes up.  They instantly are bonded.  It is as though they are members of the same fraternity.  I am going to refer to this fraternity as the Kappa Nu Omega fraternity.

Many years ago as a young married man, I had an episode where I thought I was going to die.  A pain in my lower back within minutes had me in tears.  I thought I had ruptured a disc in my back or perhaps something much worse. Death appeared imminent.  A quick trip to the emergency room revealed the problem: a kidney stone.

The doctors removed the stone and thankfully I recovered.  In the following days my doctor told me that I might never have another stone.  But if I ever had the second one, then I would probably have them the rest of my life.  The thought of having another one changed my life.  I became obsessed with drinking my water.

18 years! That is how long it took for me to have my second stone.  But then, just as the doctors predicted, I have had them about every 3 or 4 years.

The last really bad episode was in 2012.  In fact it is only the second time I had to have a procedure done in order to remove the stone, having passed all the other ones on my own.

With a procedure scheduled in which I was to be put to sleep, I awoke early in the morning.  I was nervous about the process, so I did what I always do in times such as these.  I picked up my Bible and thought to let the word speak words of comfort to me that morning and settle my anxiety.

I have a list of dozens of passages that are meant to bring comfort but I didn’t refer to my list.  I just sat down in my study and opened the word.  Now this will be hard for some to believe but it is exactly what happened.

My Bible naturally fell open to the middle section.  For the record the middle verses in the Bible are Psalms 118: 8-9.  But my eyes were drawn to one particular passage before I read anything else.  Literally, the first words I saw on the page were Psalms 118: 17-18.

I shall not die, but live

And declare the works of the LORD.

The LORD has chastened me severely,

But He has not given me over to death.

I couldn’t believe the appropriateness of the reading.  I went about the plans with a complete peace of mind.  The procedure was a success.

Of course, as I read the passage now I realize that I still have a job to do.  I am to declare the works of the LORD, which is actually what I am doing right now.

Now the point of all of this is to remind us that the answers to all of our problems lie in GOD’S Word.  Let us seek answers in the right place.

And one more thing.  If there is an actual Kappa Nu Omega fraternity, I apologize for any offense, there was none intended.

But as you may know, the actual Greek letters all have meanings attached.  Among the meanings assigned, Kappa means “bad luck”, Nu means “unpleasant necessity”, and Omega is “the end.”

So if you run into bad luck experiencing the unpleasantness of a kidney stone, and you think the end has come, I point you to GOD’S Word and hope you find comfort there.