Tag Archives: God

My Valley Fever and Sweet Syndrome Journey Chapter 3…My Hope

March 1, 2021Spiritual Encouragement, Valley Fever/Sweets Syndrome JourneyAlphonse, Christianity, faith, God, Hope, love, nurse appreciation, nurses, peace, Sweets Syndrome, The Father, Trust, Valley Fever, valley fever journeyT.W. Allgaier

Biblical definitions of Hope in the Hebrew and Greek=To trust in, wait for, look for or desire something or someone; or to expect something beneficial in the future. Anticipation and the absolute certainty of God’s promises, confident expectation.

I was in Arizona, visiting my one and only grandchild and her parents. About a week before I was to come home, I developed a dry cough and thought I was reacting to the dry air and fires. I became very fatigued and attributed it to my Fibromyalgia and overdoing it.

I was wrong.

Fast forward to October. By October 1st I was very ill and had to go to the ER on October 13, upon the insistence of my husband and neighbor. I ended up being transferred to Barnes Jewish and spent eleven total days there. I was very ill, and they did a lot of testing; I was in isolation and it was a time that the Father showed Himself over and over.

They transferred me by ambulance one evening from my local hospital, arriving at Barnes at 3:30am. Suffice it to say, I would not recommend a two-hour ambulance ride on a bucket list! I put it on so I could check it off!

I was very ill and alone. I was peaceful, and I knew the Father was with me. We arrived on the 14th floor and the charge nurse introduced me to my nurse for that night and the next night.

Here is where the Father affirmed his presence, and that He was my hope.

“This is your nurse. His name is Alphonse.”

“No, that cannot be,” I muttered quietly.

I am sure they thought I was one of “those” patients.

“Yes, ma’am, he will be your nurse.”

“But that is my husband’s name!!”

No one could believe it!

Who has that name? We all know of Alphonse Capone. But other than the Capone fellow and my husband, I knew of no others.

This nurse, Alphonse from Kenya, was such a blessing to me. His name alone was a comfort since my husband was not allowed to be there. Peace came over me. He was a believer, and we prayed for one another through those nights.

He had a burden that he had been carrying for years, and I prayed over him. Night was the worse for my pain, so he prayed for me.

All the nurses heard the story and each time they came in my room, “Shang ra La” as I called it, I told them it could be a place of rest. The Lord let me love on every one of them and encourage them in their profession.

“Alphonse” never got to meet my “Alphonse”. In fact, he was not on duty with me after that second night. I told him we were adopting him, after all he was 35 and just a year older than our eldest. He was married, with two precious girls.

I told our sons that they had an older brother, who just happened to be named after their dad. How “coincidental” is that? I don’t believe in coincidence. It was a “God thing” and will always be.

The doctors continued to test me for all kinds of diseases through that first week. I was in isolation, but with the Father’s continued presence, hope and support… we finally got some answers.

The Father will always be with you in your journey, no matter what it is. He is who I always knew He was. The journey may not be easy, but He will never leave you alone.

Be Still and know….He's "Got It"

March 21, 2020encouragement, Spiritual EncouragementBe still, Christ, covid19, encouragement, God, Godslove, Grace, know, love, onlyhope, peace, Psalm 46:10T.W. Allgaier

Do you remember when one of your kids came to you crying with a splinter and you were trying to get it out of a finger? “Be still” were the two words out of your mouth. Their purpose? To make that little guy sit still so you could keep from digging that flame sterilized needle into your baby’s already pounding finger!

My little guys always were in the “know”. They knew that their momma would get that splinter out. If they were very still, that splinter came out quicker and with less pain. They trusted me, they knew me..I was their momma.

“Be still”…this brings quiet, calm, serenity to a very stressful time. We quit moving. We stop. We don’t talk, we just listen. In Hebrew grammar this means we surrender. We surrender in order to know that God is in control as Ribbono Shel Olam, the Master of the Universe. We let go because we believe in the saving power of the Father in our lives. We surrender, knowing that “God’s got this”.

Webster says “Know” means “to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty; To have established or fixed in the mind or memory: to know a poem by heart; to be cognizant or aware of. The Hebrew, “yada” has several meanings, but in this passage it means “to have an intimate kind of knowledge.”

God was assuring Israel, just as He reassures us in the middle of this hurricane!

The winds are blowing, the storm is raging….Jesus spoke “Hush, be still” in Mark (4:39) We have literally lost our home twice to storms and it was not easy or pleasant. But we were never alone…

May our hearts be still and know intimately, by trust that He’s “got it.”

If I could take care of my son’s splintered finger, how much more can the Father take care of us?

Middle Age Pause?

December 11, 2018Spiritual EncouragementChrist, God, Jesus, middle age calling, our identity, peace in the midst, second part of life, unexpected gift series, Who we are in ChristT.W. Allgaier

If you know me well, this desk does not look like mine at all.

I am a planner. I have always believed things work better if organized. Many factors, including teaching and being married to a man that is worse(or better)than me have contributed.

So what has happened to me? I think of something and if I don’t write it down right at that very minute I might lose it!

I “accidentally” found a book in a drawer yesterday that I don’t remember. There it sat with my Hebrew/Greek Study Bible in a drawer. I pulled it out with a large question mark emblazoned on my forehead.

The title? “Second Calling” by Dale Hanson Bourke. This was not a familiar author. “Finding passion and purpose for the rest of your life.” Hmmmm, what perfect timing.

“But now, as we pause in our middle years, we begin to see some boundaries.” “You are softer, gentler, wiser, and calmer than you have ever been. You are emerging from the whirlwind of your youth and seeing the present more clearly. You are becoming more fully and completely who you are created to be.” Dale then goes on with the story of Naomi, not Ruth, but Naomi.

I “quit” teaching six years ago and knew what I was called to do. I just was not sure in which direction I would be going. It was rather frightening, but I had to trust.

This book is not only timely and a gift from my Father, but a similar idea is on one of those dozen of pieces of papers you see on my desk. Confirmation.

I am an encourager. That is what I am called to do. I am back at the radio station now for almost 4 years, and now I am more confident in my writing skills. I will just follow.