Hi. My name is Bill Petersen. My wife, Delight, was diagnosed with Medical ALS
(MALS) in January 2010. She died last Tuesday.
I am here today to thank all of you for the support, encouragement and
friendship. This group was an important part of our journey through MALS. You
might be asking yourself, “Why?”.
There is a collective strength in being part of a group who share a common
struggle. That collective strength flows down to you as an individual. When we
were tempted to think of our own struggle, we knew that there were others who
were walking the same path. That gave us strength to go on.
Important parts of that strength are those of you who are caregivers. With me is
a couple which has been strength to me and Delight during our journey. This
is Mike and Connie Dana. They were caregivers to Delight but more than that,
they loved her and have supported me in many ways over the past two years. I
encourage you, as I did last month, to identify caregivers in your circle of friends
and enlist their help early. I honor all of you who are caregivers.
For those of you who have been diagnosed with MALS, today I speak Comfort
to you because I have, and am, receiving comfort from those who surround me in
Love. I speak Hope to you - the Hope that will produce in you patient endurance
because of the journey that you are on. If you are new to the group, come back
to receive the hope, the comfort and the love that is here.
I also want to honor Lance, Sarah, Clare, Nancy, Betts and the entire team that
Dr. Goslin has assembled. They do not carry us as a burden on their shoulders
but rather they carry us in their hearts. Everyday they faced our challenges with
us. That is the strength of this MALS Support Group. I think we need to give them
a big handclap and cheer.
On the Oregon/SW Washington ALS Support Group website under the
heading “What is an ALS Support Group?” are 11 “IT IS” items.
On of the “IT IS” items states that a support group is “. . . guest speakers, current
research, diets, books, therapies and beliefs”
I’ve heard guest speakers here; I’ve read about current MALS research on
various websites; I’ve read books about MALS; heard about diets and therapies
but I’ve not heard much about beliefs.
So, I want to leave you with two things that I believe. My first belief about
MALS is that there is a cure for it. The cure for MALS is not in drugs nor is it
in the medical field. My wife was actually misdiagnosed. She was diagnosed
with MALS but she actually had ALS. In fact, she had ALS from her childhood
because at a very early age she had accepted Jesus Christ as A Loving Savior.
The cure for MALS is Jesus. JESUS IS ALS. He loved Delight so much that
when he came to heal her, she passed away peacefully into His arms. There was
no struggle.
He IS the only cure. That is my belief. I suspect that there are others in this group
who also believe and know that Jesus is ALS. If that is you, please stand. I honor
you for your stand.
Now, if you are not sure about this, I have a Rx for you. Take the Bible and read
the book of John for 15 minutes each day for one month. It will be good medicine
for your soul.
My second belief is that, Jesus the Loving Savior that cures MALS, is also A
LIVING SAVIOR. He is alive today. You can talk to Him and He will answer you.
Some people call that “prayer”. I just call that talking to God. And by the way, I
also believe that Jesus and God are one in the same.
I think C.S. Lewis said it best, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of
things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher; he’d either be a lunatic – on
a level with a man who says he’s a poached egg- or else he’d be the devil of hell.
You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God, or else
a madman or something worse. …But don’t let us come up with any patronizing
nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He hasn’t left that open to us.
He didn’t intend to.”
So, I will leave you with this …
John 10:3-4
3The watchman opens the door for this man, and the sheep listen to his
voice and heed it; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4When he has brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them,
and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. AMP
Remember, Jesus is A Loving Savior and A Living Savior. He is ALS.
God bless all of you. If you have any questions, I’d love to answer them.
