“Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.”

The name of the Lord be praised who has kept us this far by faith.  Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  By faith we shall conquer and rejoice.  

It seems as if the  Groundhog’s  myth,   or mystery, might have some truth to it after all with cold weather for the next 6 weeks.  But in between the cold, sometimes snowy weather, a day of sunshine and quiet skies breaks through.  Just to let us know how to appreciate sunshine after rain, healing after pain, joy after sorrow, and hope for tomorrow.  Hope you’ve had a great week, if not, I pray that the weekend and upcoming week will be a great one for you.

Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing a heart attack like the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest and dropping to the floor that we see in the movies. Here is the story of one woman’s experience with a heart attack:  I had a heart attack at about 10:30 p.m. with no prior exertion, no prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on.  I was sitting all snuggly and warm on a cold evening, with my cat purring in my lap, reading an interesting story a friend had sent me.  A moment later, I felt  that awful feeling of indigestion, when you’ve been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you’ve swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable.  You drink a glass of water to hasten it down to the stomach.  This was my initial sensation, but I hadn’t taken a bite of anything since about 5 p.m.  After that subsided, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to race up and down my spine.  They continued racing up and under my breast bone, where one presses when administering CPR.  It continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws.  Having heard about and reading that pain in the jaws is one of the signals of having a heart attack, I said aloud to myself and to the cat, “Dear God, I think I’m having a heart attack!” I dumped the cat from my lap and started to take a step, but fell to the floor instead.  I thought to myself, if this is a heart attack, I shouldn’t be walking to the phone or anywhere else, but if I don’t, nobody will know I need help.  I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed 911.  I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws.  She said she was sending the Paramedics right over, and asked that I unbolt the front door and lie down on the floor so they could see me when they came in.  I unlocked the door and then lay down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness.

The young lady goes on to recount the procedure the Cardiologist performed to save her life.  She wants women to know  that the common mistake they make is thinking the symptom is indigestion; take some Maalox or other heartburn preparation  and go to bed, hoping that when they wake up, which doesn’t happen, that they will feel better.  She says call the Paramedics and take an aspirin if you can.  Do not try to drive yourself to the ER because you will be a hazard to others on the road.  Don’t assume that it couldn’t be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count.  Heart attacks are usuall caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system.  Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Sixty per cent of the people who have a heart attack in their sleep don’t wake up. Let’s be careful and be aware.   Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.  Let’s keep passing this information along.

Many thanks to Pastor and Mrs. Mary Vanderhorst for the invitation to participate on the Black History program at Liberty Temple.  I had a wonderful, warm time of fellowship.  I’d also like to thank Rev. Barbara Nelson and the Arnett A.M.E. Church family for inviting me to be a part of their Black History program, and Rev. Marva Osborne for the invitation.  I can’t leave out Chapin Memorial Library.  I enjoyed the gathering of persons from far and near at their Storytelling  program.   

Please remember to pray for the sick and shut in, the bereaved, those in nursing homes and hospitals, our men and women on the battlefield in Iraq, and for the peace of Jerusalem.  Above all, let us pray for one another.  

Please join me Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on 1470 AM WLMC for Afternoon Blessings.  God bless you, and be encouraged in the Lord.