Author Archives: Terri Nida

Jesus Among Us

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Terri Nida

I’ve just returned from a six day stint in the hospital. Five of those days were spent in the ICU. What started out as a cold for me turned into a collapsed lung and a pulmonary embolism. Needless to say, I survived and am back on my beloved laptop wasting no time to share with you what I’ve learned.

During the entire six days at the hospital there was a steady stream of family and friends coming through my room. People prayed for me, with me, and while away from me. I was shown encouragement and love by people with the heart of Jesus. All I could think about was the passage below.

When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” – Mark 2:1 – 5 (NLT)

This Scripture teaches me that Jesus saw their faith (friends of the paralyzed man) and the man’s sins were forgiven. And the friends weren’t shy about it either. In the house where Jesus was preaching, there was no standing room. But these determined young men lowered the paralyzed man right down into Jesus’ face! My guess is people had pieces of the roof falling on their heads and in their eyes when they looked up to see a man coming down on a mat. They had no choice but to back up five steps and let the man be seen by Jesus.

Have you ever prayed for other people and wondered if it makes a difference? I have. I wasn’t praying much myself during this ICU visit. My thoughts went from I’m having a hard time breathing to I’m just waiting to die! And although I was allowing the devil to needle away at my thoughts instead of praying, others were praying for me. Not only were my personal friends and family praying for me, I was on prayer lists, Facebook updates and more. I believe that even people I’ve never met were praying. And God honors their prayers. He honors our prayers. When we pray together Jesus is among us. Can you imagine that? I can now.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.

– Matthew 18:20 (KJB)

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Armor of God

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Terri Nida

Since my injury occurred a year and a half ago, I’ve developed fears which have resulted in deep-seated anxiety. I fear that as a disabled person I’m an easy target to be taken advantage of. I currently have a dispute with my last facility about overbilling. Unfortunately, I can’t walk through their doors in a power suit, armed with paperwork, and give them a piece of my mind. So instead I get worked up and frustrated to the point that I can’t think straight, all the while laying awake at night.

I also fear going to sleep at night. I’m afraid something will happen to me while I’m sleeping and I won’t know that it’s happening. It may sound outrageous to some but it feels like a real possibility to me. I’ve laid awake entire nights worrying and watching my door.

All of this anxiety boils down to two things: lack of power and lack of control. I truly have no physical power as a paralyzed person, but I do have the full armor of God which doesn’t require strong arms, legs, and hands to put on; it only requires control of a few simple things.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. – Ephesians 6:10

I first have to recognize who really has the power. This Scripture teaches me that God has mighty power. The devil wants to use these anxiety–producing thoughts to make me lose my faith in the mighty power of God.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:14 – 17

The Belt Of Truth – the Bible says in Proverbs 3:5 that I can trust God with all of my heart (and with all of my situations) and he will make my paths straight. It doesn’t say the paths will be smooth and easy, but God will lead me straight to him. The Bible also says in 1 Peter 5:7 that I can cast my anxieties on God because he cares for me.

The Breastplate of Righteousness – righteousness is what I strive for every day. I’m not perfect but it’s my goal.

The Shield of Faith – do I believe in a powerful God that is sovereign, loving, and protecting? Yes! This faith is what extinguishes the flaming arrows/negative thoughts. I sometimes recite Scriptures out loud to reinforce my shield (probably to the chagrin of my neighbors).

The Helmet of Salvation and Sword of the Spirit – which is the word of God. I stay in the word of God every day as much as possible. Even when I was able-bodied and didn’t make time the way I should have, I read at least one Scripture to hold in my heart.

God’s armor is not heavy. It actually makes the world much lighter. I’m thankful that God has a plan for all situations and his directions for steering clear of the evil one are concrete.

NOTE TO READERS: I also understand that sometimes counseling and medical advice is needed. I thank God for that as well.

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God Doesn’t Make Mistakes

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Terri Nida

I have had all kinds of thoughts about being a quadriplegic. Why did this happen? Am I being punished? Is this my fault? I can’t live like this another day! A few days ago I was depressed the entire day because I missed being able to sit on the couch cross-legged while sipping on a hot cup of coffee. I hated this way of life on that particular day based on that one simple memory. And then there have been some really bad days when I told people I didn’t want to live.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. – Hebrews 1:1

A dear friend reminded me yesterday that my life is the race set before me. And it’s not just any race, it’s a race personally assigned to me by God. My race is unique from others. There’s no need for me to compare, feel jealous, indulge in self-pity, or otherwise. This is my race. It just is. You have yours. I have mine. As I run my race, I am to be free of encumbrances and to run with endurance. I don’t have to be the swiftest but I need to make it to the finish line.

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. – Psalm 139:16

It’s taken a long time for me to come to terms with the following – my injury was meant to happen. I don’t understand why God allowed it to happen, but that’s not a requirement for me. I have no idea what God has going on behind the scenes, but the Bible says it’s too unbelievable for me to fathom. Maybe my broken neck injury saved me from something worse!

What I do know now is that this paralysis is not only part of my personal race it has been planned since before I was born. Some might say, why would God allow such a thing to happen? And I have to answer that question with another Scripture:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight… – Proverbs 3:5

No matter how frustrated, disgusted, or depressed I get about being a quadriplegic, I know I’m right where I am meant to be. I don’t have to understand why this happened. I just need to acknowledge that God is sovereign, loving, and good. And he doesn’t make mistakes.

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