Dear Ms 2/16/12

Hello MS:

It’s me again.  Because of you I am not able to go to the movie today.  You make me sick to my stomach.  However, you should know that here are the rules that all of us will be playing under.  This includes you.

1.        We will never give in—that says we are defeated and we are not.  With every ounce of energy that we have we will fight.  I know that if I give in to you everyone around me will lose.   My wife would lose because mentally I would be done and I know that you have to be mentally strong to defeat you.  My kids will lose because their rock would be gone.  What would have happened if our fighting men and women gave in?  Who would be controlling the United States today?  What would have happened if our major corporations gave in—we would not have the technology, gadgets, and the modern concepts we have now.  Give In—Never.  It is not the American way.    

2.       We will never give up-- Defeat is something we will not accept from you or anyone else.  We know the battle is forever and we accept your challenge.  You should know some things about me.  I hate to lose.  I have a reputation of not wanting to play games with family or friends.  Why won’t you play I am asked?  I don’t play because I don’t like to lose.  I have heard all my life that we shouldn’t keep score, we just play for fun.  Wrong!  I play to win and you should know that.  Who ever heard of playing a game and not trying to win?  So you see—I would never give up.  Hey, this game is not over until you give up or we die.  In our society we keep score daily.  Do I have enough money in my bank account to pay my bills?  Do I have enough money to retire?  If something happens to me will my family be taken care of?  Will I get to work on time?  Can I get to the sale at the mall in time to get the best deals or will my neighbor and co workers beat me there?  Hey, all of this is score keeping. So, yes, score keeping is important in our daily life.  I hope you understand that giving up is a not in my life concept.

3.       We will never give out—Do you ever get tired?  I mean, bone tired, aching tired, and hurting tired.  I do!  Guess what.  Even as tired as I am, I ain't give out yet.  There is a good possibility that I won’t ever give out.  Whenever I think I have gone as far as I can I am thankful that I have never reached a time when I said, “This is as far as I can go.”  Knowing that if I go a little further I can deal you a setback makes me determined. Determined to be successful in my fight against you I look daily for strength.    I need physical strength to battle the destabilizing problems that you caused by wife. I need emotional strength to have a positive attitude no matter what you put in my way.   I need spiritual strength to make sure I don’t accuse God of placing you in my life.  You will not beat me down any more, I will have victory.  As a great football coach once said, “the price of victory is high but so are the rewards.”

Letter to MS 2/11/12

Dear MS:

We met almost twenty years ago.  I was introduced to you on July 6^th 1992 by Doctor David O’Neal.  You were the reason my wife could not walk very well and also the reason she was seeing double.  Over the years I have watched as you have attacked not only my wife but others that I know.  What is it with you that make this a necessary part of your daily routine?  Most of the folks I know want to forget about you but can‘t.  The doctor told us in 1992 that there would never be another day when we didn’t think about you.  It took me a while to understand but twenty years later I know he was right.  GO AWAY, PLEASE!  Do you enjoy destroying the physical, mental, and in some cases the spiritual lives of those whose body you take over?  You not only affect the lives of those who have it but the family members as well.  I don’t believe you understand the pain you cause families.  Is this something you enjoy?  Why can’t you leave us alone?  Don’t try to destroy our relationships, our love for each other, our kindness, our faith, nor our hope.  But despite everything you have done to my family I still search for the peace that passes all understanding.  You see, without peace I am unfulfilled.  The number one question I must ask myself is, “what can I do to find peace?”  You see MS—I trust God, I love others, and I am a good neighbor and I do good in my community but still your influence on my life makes peace the hardest quality to find.  I shall never give up, NEVER.  And so today is the beginning point for me.  From this day forward I am not going to concern myself with you as much as I concern myself with finding peace.  I want you to know that I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU AND I HATE YOU!  That feels good!  You will receive additional letters from me because I want you to know how I am doing.   I have started a war—a war between you and me.  I am going to win, I promise.  I am going to have peace.  I will win and I hope others will join me in this war.  Victory is ours.  Hail to the victor--