In 2009 I was diagnosed with colon cancer, heavy metal toxicity and chronic Lyme’s disease and had five “mini-strokes”. I feared my days of serving others were over. Not so. You might ask yourself: “How can I serve others when my own life needs help?” You would be surprised. Here are some ways the Spirit has answered my prayers.
• One Sunday a month I am a volunteer consultant to an African American church in formation, which has a lively form of worship and a spirited message.
• One Sunday a month I take those without transportation to a recovery breakfast and then participate in the prayer and meditation meeting that follows.
• When in Alabama it is a privilege to help hand out socks, and toothpaste and assorted toiletries to those who have no resources in a church that serves the homeless and mentally ill
• On a daily basis I email back and forth with people who live alone and have no family around them. They check in with me so I will know they are alive and okay.
• I volunteer to take people to the food stamp office and to sign up for Medicaid.
• I talk to people’s attorneys to help them translate what is needed to acquire their social security disability.
• A Thanksgiving tradition for 35 years is to invite those who have no place to go to my home. We graze all day, play games, laugh, and if there is any food left over they take it home.
At one of the spiritual gatherings I attend I ran into someone I knew back in Charleston who also has chronic Lyme’s and Heavy Metal Toxicity. We began to support one another with daily phone calls. His Lyme’s progressed to where it affected his circulation. I became his patient advocate and Power of Attorney. Three months and three hospitals later, he finally went home to a new apartment, missing a leg, but positive in his outlook. I coordinated people donating furnishings for his apartment. As a result of my interaction with the rehabilitation facility on his behalf, I am doing an in-service training on how to communicate with the residents and may possibly volunteer to do a support group for the families whose loved ones reside there.
I have been blessed with good people all around me. Isn’t it exciting to serve our Creator in this world? Ask that you be shown what gifts you can share with others. I guarantee you will not be disappointed for none can out give the Spirit.
Your Servant,
Dr. Melanie Barton
• One Sunday a month I take those without transportation to a recovery breakfast and then participate in the prayer and meditation meeting that follows.
• When in Alabama it is a privilege to help hand out socks, and toothpaste and assorted toiletries to those who have no resources in a church that serves the homeless and mentally ill
• On a daily basis I email back and forth with people who live alone and have no family around them. They check in with me so I will know they are alive and okay.
• I volunteer to take people to the food stamp office and to sign up for Medicaid.
• I talk to people’s attorneys to help them translate what is needed to acquire their social security disability.
• A Thanksgiving tradition for 35 years is to invite those who have no place to go to my home. We graze all day, play games, laugh, and if there is any food left over they take it home.
At one of the spiritual gatherings I attend I ran into someone I knew back in Charleston who also has chronic Lyme’s and Heavy Metal Toxicity. We began to support one another with daily phone calls. His Lyme’s progressed to where it affected his circulation. I became his patient advocate and Power of Attorney. Three months and three hospitals later, he finally went home to a new apartment, missing a leg, but positive in his outlook. I coordinated people donating furnishings for his apartment. As a result of my interaction with the rehabilitation facility on his behalf, I am doing an in-service training on how to communicate with the residents and may possibly volunteer to do a support group for the families whose loved ones reside there.
I have been blessed with good people all around me. Isn’t it exciting to serve our Creator in this world? Ask that you be shown what gifts you can share with others. I guarantee you will not be disappointed for none can out give the Spirit.
Your Servant,
Dr. Melanie Barton
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