Sunday, October 18, 2020

Things that made me a better critical thinker along the way

 Life or death situations likely are the best example of things that CAN train you to be a better critical thinker. Many people sort of "Sleep Walk" through life just barely getting by. During War times or Pandemic times though these people are often the first ones to die.

Whooping cough at age 2 was the first thing in my life I had to not die from. And in that case I was just so very young that God sent angels to save me because for some reason it was important to God that I stay alive a really long time. I'm already 72 by the way now. The next thing I had to survive was from a blow to the head rock climbing with my father where I fell about 8 feet onto the back of my head. I was throwing up but this was likely 1956 or 1957 when there were no helicopter rescues yet and so my father knew I was too big to carry me up a rock face and over to his work truck. So, he likely did what his father did and thought: "I can't carry this kid uphill out of here and if he can't get out under his own power he might die here." Looking back this is exactly what he thought. So, as I kept throwing up from a concussion (that I never saw a doctor for) and had the world's worst headache my father told me to just "Get up and start moving" as I was crying from throwing up with a headache and thinking I might die that day very seriously. Well, I made it to the truck and about 1 year later I started having blunt trauma childhood epilepsy seizures. This in the end made me religious because I didn't want to die of this problem. And at age 15 I asked God to come live in my body with me and he did which caused my entire physical appearance to change drastically and girls started falling in love with the 6 foot 3 tall lanky guy I became and then by 21 I was 6 feet 4 1/2 inches tall or my wife just calls me 6 foot 5 because if I wear any shoes at all that's how tall I really am. But, I also like to go barefoot because I was a surfer in the 1960s too in Los Angeles Area, (Malibu and Huntington Beach and many other beaches I liked then.)

So, physically almost dying a few times made me a better critical thinker. Then my father started training me to be an electrician when I was 12 summers because I was having seizures at night as I slept so he wasn't sure I could go to college even though I as always very smart like him. He was valedictorian of his high School Senior Class. But, my seizures stopped when God came and lived in my body with me at age 15 like I asked God to. Even though I knew girls were falling in love with God who now lived in my body. That was a lot to get used to by the way. But, I did by age 16 and just accepted that this was how God loved his many children and this was how God wanted me to be to take care of everyone and help them with their problems. Since both my parents were ministers I had learned as a child to ask how I could help all people anyway and then God would speak through me how to help them in their lives. So, many people loved me because I was "A Gift From God" in this sense. I was always very sincere because I had already almost died at least twice by the time I was 15 from diseases like Whooping Cough and Blunt Trauma Childhood epilepsy. So, this suffering made me more mature than other people my age and much more kind and helpful than most people are at 10 to 15 years old too.

By God's Grace

The point I'm trying to make here is that Trauma often brings God into your life like it did Saint Francis of Asisi in Italy when he got PTSD from Battle and he was never the same ever again. Near death experiences often bring God into your life because otherwise you will die for real.

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