The Gentle Healer

KIM UPDATE

T's suffocating off-the-ball defense

To be honest, it's been a difficult weekend at the hospital. Round 3 has been the toughest so far (outside of the Rituxan reaction in Round 1). The methotrexate given via spinal tap has forced Kim to stay horizontal all weekend otherwise she gets bad headaches and she's lost 3 pounds as she's not eating well. We've tried Vicodin without much success. We're trying a new pain med Fioricet which we're praying works better - please pray with us. We will probably be discharged tomorrow morning and we're hoping that she can at least sit up and walk around by then for the sake of the kids. I've posted a couple photos of the kids that Kim's younger sister (Christina) emailed us that made us smile. You don't realize how much you take for granted until you're away from them and we're learning to treasure the "little moments" in life as gifts from God.
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S flying a kite

I came across this old devotional I wrote about a year ago - which was a good reminder for me this morning. Ultimately healing of ailments, disease and even sin can only come from Jesus Himself. I know some of you out there are dealing with your own medical ailments (some very severe). We hope this ministers to you as well....


And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. -Matthew 8:2-3

You gain a deeper awareness for germs when you have young children. I think the three most repeated phrases in parenthood are "Don't touch that!", "Put that down!" and "Spit that out!" From anti-bacterial soaps to bleach wipes our culture has declared a war on germs and we parents are on the front-lines.

That said, I don't think our high sense of hygiene could hold a candle to the 1st century Jew and their many ceremonial laws. I wonder how the people reacted when Jesus touched the leper that day. Did they gasp in shock? Grimace in horror? Surely they wondered why Jesus would dare to touch...."the leper". He could have accomplished the healing with a simple word - as He did on many other occasions. But no, this time He stretches out His own hand to touch the one who would render you unclean at best or infect you into a fellow leper at worst.

When we touch the unclean...we become unclean. When Jesus touches the unclean...He makes it clean. That is the power of God! Is there anything unclean in your life? Stop trying to use what is unclean to clean what is unclean - it's an exercise in futility. Instead, let Jesus stretch out his hand and touch what is unclean - and render it clean.

In His Grace,
Peter & Kim