Reflection: “Hope in the Midst of the Machines”

At the dialysis center, voices fill the air — stories, struggles, advice, laments. It is a strange gathering of souls bound by a common thread: the fight to stay alive, one session at a time. I often sit quietly, listening not by choice but by circumstance. And sometimes, what I hear weighs heavy. Words like, “you will grow weaker, life will grow harder.” Resigned voices, accepting that the years ahead will only bring decline.

But in my heart, I cannot — I will not — accept that. My life is not a slow march to despair. I am more than a patient hooked to a machine. My story is not yet finished.

Yes, dialysis is hard. Yes, it brings fatigue, loneliness, even fear. But this is temporary. I believe that with all my heart. My eyes are set on a future beyond this — a transplant, a renewal of life, even if now it feels distant and uncertain. I know the odds. I know the cost. But I also know my God.

And so, I pray:
Lord, please make a way where there seems to be no way.
Use me, even now, even in this weakness.
Give me a new chance to live a life that honors You, to help others, to find joy again.
Forgive me for my failures and faults. Lift me up from this valley.

I choose to hope. I choose to fight. I choose to believe that this suffering is not the end of my story. There is a purpose yet unseen, a future yet unwritten. And as long as I breathe, I will keep going — in faith, in courage, in hope.