First 100 Days

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866-348-7884. America has just marked Trump's first 100 days in office. Trump's first 100 days in office.

And I've made a lot of stories about that and so forth. Well, I have my own 100 days that I wanted to talk about on this program today. Gracie and I have just celebrated, if that's the right word, our first 100 days in the hospital. Now, we've spent long stretches in the hospital before.

Two months, three months. Never quite made it to 100 days. We have made it now to 100 days.

We've been here in the hospital in Aurora, Colorado, at the University of Colorado Medical Center where she has had nine surgeries, bringing her to a lifetime of 95. It has been a bit of a grind. But I have learned a few things. I've experienced a few things. And I thought today I would share with you about my first 100 days in the hospital.

I don't know what my approval rating is. You're going to have to ask Gracie for that. And if you want to hear about her first 100 days in the hospital, you're going to have to ask her about that as well. It has been, as you can imagine, a bit of a challenge. But it hasn't come without poignant moments, tender moments, great moments, meaningful moments, sad, funny.

There's been some humor there. And all of the above, you just have to just roll with the punches. Here's a few things that will let you know you've been in the hospital too long. When you consider cafeteria meatloaf as a home-cooked meal, that's how you know you've been in the hospital too long.

And when their coffee actually starts tasting good, and that's just wrong. Because you get frequent flour miles for all the trips down to the surgical suite in pre-op. And you know you've been here too long in the hospital when you start referring to hospital gowns as your casual Friday attire. And other visitors stop to ask you for directions.

And you actually know the answers, which I do. You know you've been here too long when you know the exact number of seconds it takes to cross the very busy street between the hotel and the hospital. That's 21 seconds, by the way. It takes me 21 seconds to cross that street. It's a very big street, very busy street. I don't take for granted to get across that thing safely every day. So it's worth your while if you're ever down here to pay attention when you cross that street. And another way that you know you've been here a long time is the security guard at the desk where I go in every day. You're supposed to show ID.

They don't even ask anymore. They all know me. And as I walk in, they ask about Gracie. And a friend of mine came to visit the other day, and he saw me talking to all these different people. Before we even got down to the first floor, we were on the eighth floor where Gracie is.

And he said, you know way too many people here. And I do. I go to the coffee shop down below to get Gracie's coffee every day because the hospital coffee really is not very good that they bring to the room. But they have a little coffee shop, and I get her coffee there. And the guy automatically, when he sees me in line, he grabs 16-ounce dark coffee, leaves room for cream.

I know how many cream and sugars. It's the little things like that, but they all know me. And that's how you know you've been in the hospital for a long time. In my first 100 days in the hospital, but I also learned some other things. I've learned that hospitals truly are the great equalizers. And I have seen all kinds of drama in other people's lives. And at the hospital doors, everybody becomes on equal ground.

Rich, poor, black, white, brown, illegal, non-illegal. I've seen it all. And it equalizes everybody here.

It is the human condition. I was going into the hospital Monday morning. And it was early in the morning, about 730s or so. And it's a walk across the street and over to where I go into the emergency room entrance because that's the closest elevator to where I get to Gracie's room. I just have my little path there. And I see the Canadian geese as I go because they're all hanging out. And there's a beautiful pond there where the Canadian geese hang out. But during my stay here, they've pulled a body out of that pond.

So there's that. But as I was going over there, I saw this lady. I heard this noise before I saw her. And she looked to be maybe in her 40s or so and just screaming right outside the emergency room. And she was screaming at an SUV that was parked there. And I don't know who it was. Maybe her husband.

I don't know who it was. But a guy was sitting behind the wheel and she was just yelling at him, not in pain, but just enraged. And she opened the door.

Something fell out and she threw it back in and she got in the vehicle with him and he drove off. And I could hear her yelling. And the window was not down. And I could hear her yelling as they drove off through the closed window of this thing. And he was standing there just both hands on the steering wheel, tended to. And he was staring straight ahead. And I could only imagine that he was praying for the sweet embrace of death at that point.

You know, just like he looked so miserable and she's just not letting up. I don't know what was going on. And the security guards, I asked them about it. They said, oh, yeah, yeah, we saw it. And I go in there and there's a guy at the desk and talking to one of the security guards checking and he spent a good bit of time talking about pancakes. And I'm not sure what was going on with him, but he just was very intent on explaining to the security guards the nature of pancakes and breakfast foods that somebody was.

I never did figure out where it was going, but they were being very kind. And I looked over at one of the security guards who happens to be from Ghana. And I've gotten to know him. I can speak a few words in his language because we work over there with our prosthetic limb outreach. And so I could always tell the accent in sub-Saharan West Africa.

And usually I'm right that it's from Ghana. And I looked over at him and I said, you got this? He nodded at me.

He was on top of it. And I've seen some of the craziest things there, but I've seen also some of the most painful things. Heartache. I've gotten to know people in this hotel who have loved ones there because this is kind of an extended care hotel. And I've gotten to know many of them who have loved ones that are hanging by a thread or going through very painful, painful things. And I talk with them.

It's the great equalizer. There is a full on display of the human condition when you spend this kind of time at a hospital. You see it the first. If you're here just for the first couple of days, it's disorienting. You're in shock and or you're trying to figure out the lay of the land, that kind of thing. And by that time goes, they've discharged and you move on.

But when you've been here for this long, when it really stretches into a marathon stay, I think I'm eligible to vote here now, which they probably could use it. We turn on the local news. We're watching in the hospital. Gracie and I were one evening and they mentioned all the different shootings going on in Aurora at the grocery store where I've been to.

You know, there's one of those places where you have to ask the manager to get the key and everything else. But there's just there's just drama all around. And you see it. And the question I ask myself often is, what's my stewardship responsibility in this? Do I just go about this anonymously or do I or am I prepared at a moment's notice to comfort one another with the same comfort that I received from the God of all comfort? Am I prepared to speak into people's lives with the message and the hope of the gospel? And I'm going to talk about that when we come back.

And I'd like to hear your thoughts as well. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is Truth Talk Live. 866-34-TRUTH.

That's 866-348-7884. We'll be right back. Truth Talk Live! You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you today. The number is 866-34-TRUTH.

That's 866-348-7884. If you want to be a part of the program. I've been talking about my first 100 days in the hospital. Everybody's been talking about Trump's first 100 days.

They do that with presidents. But I'm talking about my first 100 days. This is the first time I've ever spent 100 days straight as a caregiver in the hospital with my wife. We've had almost that many. We've had several three-month stays, but we always came under 100. But this time we got to that milestone, if you want to call it as such.

And it comes with a lot of reflections. Every time you reach a milestone, you kind of want to think about some things and what we've learned. And just as a way of background, why are we doing this? Well, back in 1983, she had a terrible car accident. She was a student at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. She was going on a trip to meet a friend and just fell asleep at the wheel.

In the middle of the day. Just put her head down. You can read about her story. It's been published in many, many places, including her book, which is called Gracie Standing with Hope.

It is a powerful story. I think you will find it very meaningful of what this woman has endured, what she's come through, what she's learned, what she's gained, what she has produced. She founded and launched a prosthetic limb ministry for her fellow amputees called Standing with Hope. And we've been doing this for 20 years with the prosthetic limb ministry, but it has come at a great cost to her. She gave up both of her legs in the 90s.

She has had, to my best count, 95 operations, including nine just in these last 100 days. It was a terrible wreck. Now, the reason she's in this situation is because back in 1983, medicine was a lot different than it is now. Prosthetics were different. They didn't want to amputate her legs at the time of the wreck. Today's standards, they probably would have because she could get back up on prosthetics so much faster. And the way they rebuilt her, it condemned her to a life of orthopedic trauma.

It doesn't mean anybody did anything wrong. It's just that science has come a long way since then. So there'll never be another patient like her. I've been told this by many medical professionals.

And there will never be, quite frankly, a caregiver quite like me. And I've been told that by many medical professionals. It's a very rare journey that we've gone on. And to spend 100 days after doing this for four decades, to spend 100 days straight in a hospital has come with some unusual insights. And I say these things not to say, hey, look at our story.

I'm saying these things. OK, look at what we discovered in this, because this is a pretty extreme journey. And the take home for others is if Peter and Gracie found God to be faithful in that level of trauma and of a journey, then that hopefully provides you with a bit of courage to trust God in your situation.

And it's wise to listen to people with a lot of scars because we can avoid what got them those scars and also learn for how they endured with those scars. And this is something I've reflected on as I've gone through these 100 days of we started here in the dead of winter. And here we are now in spring.

It's been quite a journey. Didn't expect it. We expected to be here about six to seven weeks. We didn't expect the other seven operations that she had to do. We knew we were having two.

We didn't know we were going to have nine. Here's one of the things I've learned. I've learned that I cannot put my life on hold while in a hospital for this length of time, maybe for a day or two, maybe even for a week, but not 100 days. And Gracie does not benefit if I am fat, broken, miserable. There's no math for that. Remember, I told you, don't call in with math problems.

But how does she benefit if I am not in a good place spiritually, emotionally, physically, fiscally, all of those things? And so I set out to produce while I've been here, and I have. I've published nine articles. I've done 26, I believe, radio programs.

I do two a week. And I've also finished my new book. I've written about 50,000 words since I've been here.

I've got the book to my publisher and already got a contract for it. And I have shipped prosthetic supplies over to West Africa. I've been working on all the things that I do with Running Standing with Hope and doing this program and then doing my radio program, Hope for the Caregiver, which also airs on this network. And then writing and writing and writing and writing. And a lot of this I do just right there in the room with her.

There's a little desk that is attached to kind of a small sofa that sits in the room, and I sit there and write. And I've done this because I am called to be productive. This is our life. This is not an episode of our life. This is our life.

We've logged too much time in the hospital for this to be just a kind of a distraction or something we have to get through to get on with our life. This is our life. And it's in these places that I have seen and encountered principles of God that are nothing short of astonishing. That we can have peace in the middle of this. Did you know that?

He says that we can, and we can. I have seen things that are blood curdling. I've watched a very, very painful situation erupt with Gracie that would cause most people to pass out.

It was pretty graphic of what happened to her leg. And I was right there. And I got the med team in there. We got it all addressed.

We had some back and forth on some things, but it got fixed and addressed. I have seen family members of other patients. I remember we were out walking in the hallways. Gracie has quite a bit of medical equipment that she has to walk with, and it's pretty difficult to maneuver around. And while we're doing that, we hear this shrieking and profanity and screaming and everything else. And there was a patient just a couple doors down that was just losing it. And I saw the caregiver of that patient who was just distraught. And I've got Gracie with all her gear. I've got a physical therapist that's helping us walk. And we try to transition her out.

I mean, it's not very easy because she's got a whole parade of equipment. And you've heard of code blue. That's when a patient flatlines. Code red is when there's a fire.

But they also have what they call a code gray, a code gray. And that is when a patient becomes uncontrollable, and they have to bring security and everything else. And that's what happened there. And everybody was flooding.

And I've got Gracie with two prosthetic legs, a walker, an IV pole, and two vacuum pumps that the mobility tech and I were doing and navigating with her. And we tried to usher her away quickly because it got pretty gnarly. And I saw that family member that was just losing it. I couldn't really go over there at that point. But I did see them, and I thought about that.

And they ushered out, and it was one of those things that just happened so quickly. But I thought, you know, maybe, maybe, maybe we need to have a code grace, a code grace where we see trouble. And we don't judge.

We don't go in there and try to fix it all. We just go and then just be and surround them, just like they do when there's a code blue. I've been there when they've called code blue on my wife. And it is a frightening experience. But I watch the people that rush to her side and the training that kicks in because they know what to do. Yes, it's serious.

Yes, it's grave. Yes, it's scary. But do we call code grace when we see someone who's in distress? And I've had the opportunity to do that with people here at this hospital, family members.

I didn't get to see that woman because it happened so quickly, and it got transitioned out. But I saw it with others, and I was able to stop and just call a code grace and speak to them, not try to give them all kinds of the four spiritual laws and this and this. Just minister to them. Just let them know that they're not alone. It is a lonely and heartbreaking experience to be in a hospital for so many people.

And even though there is, you know, bustling activity, tons and tons of people, you can feel so isolated there. I know this. I know this probably more than most people will ever know. Do I have a responsibility to take what I've learned that has sustained me in this and offer it to others?

You bet I do. Scripture tells me that. I'm looking for things to do, but as I move about the hospital, as I'm in the elevator, as I'm engaged with whoever comes into the room and so forth, there's always an opportunity to encourage others to bear witness. I mean, they're watching us as we go through this, and they've told me this.

I have too many people say, we've never seen anybody go through what you've gone through. And they watched Gracie start singing. Well, we were singing together last week when her entire leg opened up. And like I said, it was pretty gruesome. And they watched how we handled it. They watched how she handled it.

The lesson I've learned from that is people watch. And when they see how we as Christians deal with adversity and challenges and heartache and sorrow, and they know that what our situation is is beyond the pale. They know it's difficult. And they see that Gracie and I are not destroyed. We're perplexed, but we're not despairing.

We're hard-pressed, but we're not freaking out. And they want to know why. They do. They ask.

They want to know why. What a joy it is to be able to tell them about the peace that passes all understanding. And that is Truth Talk Live. 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. This is Peter Rosenberger.

We'll be right back. Truth Talk Live! You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Music Welcome back to Truth Talk Live.

I am Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you today. If you've got some thoughts, some questions, or something on your mind, jump into the conversation.

Love to hear from you. Here's the number to call. 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884.

866-34-TRUTH. We've been discussing the first 100 days of Trump's second administration. And I thought, well, this would be a good opportunity for me to talk about the first 100 days I've spent in the hospital. Now, we have spent more than 100 days over the years in the hospital. Many, many, many, many days. In fact, too many really to count over the last 40-something years. But this is the first time I've gone one stretch of 100 days. Actually, a little bit more. It'll be before we get out of here.

But 100 days in a row. And it's been quite a journey to do this. Maybe you've done this. If you've done this, I'd like to hear things you've learned along the way and hear your experiences.

It's been a novelty for me to do something like this and certainly for Gracie. And she'll have to have her own report of how she's dealt with it. But I go back to the model that Scripture lays out for us in multiple places where this principle is at place. Now, there's nowhere in Scripture where anybody spent 100 days in a hospital in Denver, Colorado.

Okay, so I'm not trying to make a literal point-to-point model, but the principle is laid out. Everything we deal with is laid out in Scripture in principle of what God would have us do and model as we live our life in this very challenging world. And two things come to mind. One of them is, of course, Paul and Silas in prison around midnight after being beaten and they're singing hymns.

And we talked about that in the last block. And I look at them doing what they did best, which was to give glory to God despite what was going on. Paul wrote the book of Philippians while in prison.

And so he was held captive there and yet he used the time wisely. And then I look at Jeremiah 29. Now, most people know Jeremiah 29, 11.

That's the one that everybody likes to quote. It says, I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord to prosper and so forth. We love that verse, but we rarely hear it discussed in context. Do you know what the first couple of verses of that chapter are right before that verse hits in 29, 11? Go back up to Jeremiah 29, four for context. This is many, many, many years after King David and Solomon and the kingdom had split. And these exiles had been taken off.

Jewish people have been taken off by Nebuchadnezzar from Jerusalem into Babylon. OK. And they're gathered around and they're going to get this letter read to them that's being delivered from the prophet Jeremiah. And they can't wait because they're really ready for Jeremiah to tell them when they're going to go home. They're in exile in Babylon. They want to go home. They don't want to be there.

And here's what the letter said. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I sent, whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage that they may bear sons and daughters.

Multiply there and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf. For in its welfare, you will find your welfare. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. Do not let your prophets and your diviners who were among you deceive you and do not listen to the to the dreams that they dream. For it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name.

I did not send them, declares the Lord. For thus saith the Lord, when 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.

Plans for your welfare and not for evil. To give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. And when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, declares the Lord. And I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord. And I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

There's nothing like reading scripture in context, is there? The point of all of that was they wanted to get out of their situation. They wanted to go home. I understand that. We've only been here 100 days.

They were in exile. But God says, I've sent you here. Now y'all be still.

Now that's the southern translation version. And you get busy and you be industrious. You get married. You build your house. Get your family.

Get your grandkids. And y'all be still. I'll come get you when I'm ready. Because I know what I have in store for you. But you're going to stay right there until I'm ready to come get you.

But you are not to sit there and just whine about it. You're to be industrious. Plant gardens. Eat their produce. Build houses. Live in them. Have wives and children and grandchildren. Be busy.

Be industrious. Wait on the Lord. We love that verse. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not grow faint. And we love that because I truly believe that.

That Gracie is going to do all of those things. But then there's that word wait. And we really don't know how long God has in mind when He says wait. Minutes. Hours. Days. Weeks. Months. Years. Decades. And sometimes, like in our case, a lifetime. Does it negate the promise?

No. So what is our responsibility? Well, from what I just read there in Jeremiah 29, in being industrious, wherever God has you seems to be important to God, don't you think?

That's what it says right there in the text. While Paul was in prison, he went about writing to the church, particularly that letter I mentioned to the church at Philippi. And there is this industriousness that God calls us to in whatever situation we are in. And I took that to heart while I've been at the hospital with Gracie. Never missed a day being with her. Did all kinds of things over there for her.

Was right there with her. Sometimes I'd have to come over to the hotel to do the program like I'm doing now. But I stayed busy and threw myself into the things that God had in front of me. That's the lesson I've learned in my first 100 days in the hospital, that I need to be busy.

Going about the things that He has laid in front of me to do. Not busy just for busy's sake. I mean, I don't come over here and clean the hotel or I don't, you know, go around and check on other patients. No, I have things at my hand to do. And I have the ability to write and to accomplish things even while I'm in a hospital room.

And I wrote a great deal of my new book that will come out next year in the ICU with Gracie, sitting right there beside her. Build houses. Plant vineyards.

Eat from their produce. Get married. Have children. Have grandchildren.

Live life wherever He has you instead of just wringing our hands and saying, woe is me. And that's what changed for me in this hospital stay more than any other stay. It had started to happen last year when we were here for almost three months, including Christmas in the hospital. And then a year and a half before that, we were in for almost three months.

The same kind of thing. But I learned to be industrious. In fact, I wrote my book A Minute for Caregivers while I was in this hospital. We were on the tenth floor at that time, the neuro wing.

Now we're on the orthopedic wing. And I just took it to heart what the scripture says and tried to be industrious to the best of my abilities. To think of the things of God. I've also been studying. I've been going through the book of Acts right now. I just finished the book of John while I've been here.

Actually, I finished the last part of Romans. And then I went through a whole series of preaching that I would listen to as I walked back and forth to the hospital. And by the time I get from my hotel room to Gracie's room, I'd almost finished that sermon. Because I stopped by the coffee shop, get her coffee, and I'm listening to this the whole way I'm doing this, and then on the way back, finish that sermon and go to the next one. And I've been doing a whole teaching series going through the book of John, and now I'm into Acts. Faith comes by hearing, hearing from the word of God, how they're going to hear without a preacher. And if I'm listening to a preacher preaching to me every single day, expository preaching through the gospel, now into Acts, what do you think that's doing to my mind?

And I would love to take credit for some of it, but I'm not going to take credit for any of it. Because all I'm doing is doing what it told me to do, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And it's given me a perspective to say, you know what, I'm not going to sit there and wring my hands and say woe is me.

That doesn't help Gracie, doesn't help me, doesn't help anybody. And so I'm going to fill my life and fill my mind with the things of God so that I can better care for my wife. You know, I'm not a pastor. I have great hair, but I'm not a preacher. But I do have a congregation of one, and that's her. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church.

He laid down his life for her. Well, how am I going to do that if I'm so busy trying to get out of a situation that God has clearly allowed us to be in? If He's Lord at all, then He is Lord of all. And I go back to what Gracie said when I was praying that time before her 91st surgery. And I said, Lord, it's just too many.

And after I finished praying, she stopped me and she said, no, it's not. It's whatever He says. And we recognize that this is where He has us.

I don't understand it. We don't have to like it. But we respect the fact that this is where God has us. And we bend the knee to that and say, Lord, not my will, but Thine. And we're going to be industrious in this. We're going to do the best we can with what's at our hand to do. This is what I've learned in my 100 days in the hospital. How important it is for that to be able to go back and look at Jeremiah 29 in context. That I'm not trying to get out of something, but we're going to be still and industrious until He moves us and says it's time to go.

And when that moment happens, we'll go to the next level. But until then, we go about the business that He has for us right now. This is what I've learned in my first 100 days in the hospital.

If you've done this as well, I'd like to hear from you. Because this is new ground for me, but the principle in Scripture seems very clear to me. When I say be still, by the way, y'all be still, it doesn't mean we're going to sit there. Being still is a matter of being still in your heart so that you can be industrious to the things at your hand to do.

Focus on right here, right now, and be obedient to where God has us. That's what I've learned in my first 100 days in the hospital, and that is for me, Truth Talk Live. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. I am Peter Rosenberger, glad to be with you.

If you want to be a part of the program, 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. As I wrap up the things I've learned on my 100 days in the hospital, it's been an illuminating time. A friend of mine once told me a long time ago, get used to ambiguity. Get used to ambiguity.

And I mulled on that phrase a lot, and I think that, and I wrote about this on my new Substack article, you can go out to the website and just click on the Substack link. It's, there's a certain level of tension that comes in us when we don't know really what's going to happen, when we feel out of control, when we feel, well, do you remember during the pandemic, during these uncertain times? Well, I got to tell you, when have they ever been certain? I mean, look back, do you see certain times in your life, you know, what does certain times look like? And as a caregiver, and somebody's dealt with this medical crisis since Reagan was president, I, we've had to learn to live with ambiguity. I had the surgeon, I don't know if I told you this or not, but there was a complication with my wife, and this was about a month ago, and he said in all my years as a surgeon, and he's not a young surgeon, he's been around a while, a very good surgeon, he said, I've never seen anything like this.

And I told him, I said, well, the first time a surgeon told me that, Ronald Reagan was president. And so, uncertain times, ambiguity, there's things we don't know, there's things that really cause a great disconnect for us. So what is certain? Our certainty. And there's a wonderful doctrine in the church called the doctrine of the perseverance of saints.

And the crux of it is this. He who saved you will keep you and equip you to persevere. There's our certainty. There's our assurance that I got on the caregiver calendar that I made, that you can get one if you want, by the way, it's out at our website, just go to PeterRosenberger.com, when you go to the donate button, and whatever's on your heart to give, we'll send you one, we still have a few left. And I put a picture of landscapes that I've taken from our place in Montana, and different shots, mountains, snow, and horses, and all kinds of things.

And for April, I took this picture last year on Good Friday. And I put a quote, and it said, his scarred hand holds our scared hand. It's not how tight we grasp him, it's how tight he grasps us.

You see the difference? That's where our assurance comes in. This is where our hope comes in. This is where our endurance, during these uncertain times, uncertain times start from the moment we're born till we step into eternity. And there's uncertainty all around us, and yet we have the assurance of God's redemptive work.

And as I said in the earlier block, this is what people look at. When Gracie started singing during a very serious crisis, in my leg, Lord, be glorified, people marveled. They didn't quite know how to process it. They've seen patients scream. I told you about the lady that was having the code gray. They've seen patients cry and get angry and pass out and throw up and everything else.

I don't think they have seen a patient, at least it didn't seem like it, who cried in the midst of a very, very gruesome, distressing moment. During these uncertain times, get used to ambiguity. And I think when we demand that God explain things to us, when we demand that He say, okay, Peter, this is why this is happening, this is what's going to happen, we're trying to bring God down into a manageable place for us. When He instead gives us Himself, C.S. Lewis said, He is the answer. He's not going to give you answers, He is the answer. And this is something I've learned as I've gone through this 100 days, is that He is the answer. There is no other place to go. Anybody else tell you that? Well, maybe you can debate with them, but I'm saying this after four decades of this, of living with very, very difficult circumstances, relentless. And Grace is saying the same thing.

He is the answer. These are important things to hang on to for us, because Jesus promised that we're going to have difficulties in this world. It's a bit distressing when I turn on a lot of Christian television and they shout and proclaim loudly and particularly if you give money, you're going to get your breakthrough, you're going to get this, you're going to get that, you're going to get this. Does that bother you to hear that? It bothers me, because when somebody says, well, you're going to get your breakthrough.

You know what, I've already had my breakthrough. It came on the cross. That is the defining moment that He died.

You heard a commercial there, a commercial break. We proclaim Easter every day. He rose again and He ascended and He is interceding for us. So as Grace and I go through all these things, I can be certain of that, that the King of Kings is interceding for us to the Father. That's what the Scriptures say.

How's that for certainty? How's that for anchoring in the midst of whatever? Look around you. The world is, it just seems like it's coming unraveled a lot. And people are very distressed, people are very uneasy. What are we doing about that as believers? Because they're watching the church.

If you wear the name Christian, they're watching you. And it's our opportunity in this not to be on the sidelines from it. That's another thing I've learned that, you know, I don't just parachute into the hospital. We're embedded in there now with Gracie for 100 days. She's there 24-7. We're embedded into the human condition.

And even when we go home, which I plan on doing, it's still with us. People see these things, people notice. And are we pointing to the despair or the anger or frustration or sadness? Or are we pointing to us? Are we pointing to the only certainty during these uncertain times? That's why we named our ministry Standing with Hope. Standing with Hope. And we do prosthetic limbs.

It's an adventure that Gracie envisioned after she gave up both of her legs. And then we have inmates that help us do it, of all things. CoreCivic out of Nashville, great organization, has one of their facilities that they have. They have correctional facilities all over the country.

And they have a lot of faith-based programs. And prisoners volunteer to help us disassemble collected used limbs. And they'll disassemble so that we can reuse the parts. Being a part of something.

And then we send all those over to West Africa where they're used to build a brand new lake. And you can go out and see the pictures of the people whose lives have been changed because Gracie was willing to trust God with these uncertain times which have defined her entire life. And she realized that there was something more and that's why she calls it Standing with Hope. Knowing that He who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it to the day of Christ Jesus. These are things that I learned greater.

I don't say that I've learned them. I am learning them more through this journey. And that is what has been, it's been very rewarding. It's been hard. There's no question this has been a hard journey for us.

And hopefully next week I'll be doing this from our home in Montana. Can't promise. I don't know. Get used to ambiguity. Wherever I'm doing it, He's already there waiting for us. Hear the difference?

That's the difference. Wherever we're heading with things, He's already there waiting. Some of you may be going into surgery. Some of you may have some very difficult things facing your family.

He's already there waiting and is prepared to minister to you in it. This is what I've learned during these uncertain times. This is what I've learned through this journey. And I would love for you to go take a look at that article that I put out there.

Get used to ambiguity. Shake hands with it. It's out at my website, PeterRosenberger.com, where you can see all the things that we do. And by the way, if you do know somebody who has a family member who's an amputee and they passed away, they don't know what to do with the leg, don't throw it away. We'll take it.

And you can just click on there in the link on my website. It'll take you right there where you can donate that used limb. We would love to take that. Particularly, by the way, if they're children, because children outgrow legs, so don't throw them away. If you have a child that's an amputee, if you know somebody who is, please don't throw those away. We'll take them.

PeterRosenberger.com, or you can go straight to the website of the ministry, standingwithhope.com. Either way, we'd love to hear from you on that. Thank you for letting me take a little time with you today. 100 days in the hospital. I hope it's the last week, but either way, we'll see you next week. This is Peter Rosenberger.