'Twas the Night Before Cancer...

Well, here we sit on the eve of “C-Day”. Tomorrow we head back to University of Chicago to see if the cancer is gone. We've been waiting 84 (sometimes crazy) days for this defining moment. Typically after four rounds of chemotherapy the cancer is hoped to be eradicated. If nothing shows up on the PET scan then the protocol is to run two more rounds just to make sure they get everything even the scan may not see. If the cancer remains then it’s time to reset the plan and consider more aggressive out of the box treatments like a bone marrow transplant. (By the way if you haven’t registered yet – what is you waiting for? Please register HERE!)

To be honest, Kim and I are dreading the thought of two more rounds of chemo let alone doing much more than that. That said we are trying to get to a place of accepting the Lord’s will for us – whatever that may be. Of course, we are praying that the cancer is gone and we pray that it never appears again. But we know it’s not about “our will in heaven” but “His will on earth”. 

I spent much of early this morning looking at one our favorite posts on this blog. When the cancer first hit many of you left in the comments sections verses the Lord gave you in your darkest moments in life and the moving stories behind it. It is ministering to us in ways you will never know.

In that same vein, we received a card from a friend last week who has a daughter that is dealing with a serious health issue that really spoke to us. In it she wrote:

“I have cried out to God – wanting her to be whole and healthy. I want to run through this valley and get to the other side as quickly as possible so that we can resume our “normal” life again – that is just human nature! It goes against everything in me to welcome this valley – to sit- to soak it in. So many of your posts have spoken directly to this and have encouraged me to trust, to wait, to learn from this time. Thank you for your witness – both of you!”

It is encouraging to hear how the Lord has used our trial to minister to others in their own respective trials. It is humbling to hear someone saying they have learned something from you that you feel you are still learning. The irony is that minutes before we read this card, Kim and I were having a difficult discussion about readying ourselves for whatever the test results may show. Sometime the Lord only grants you enough faith for that day – sometimes He will graciously allow the faith of a fellow brother or sister to get you over the hump that day. That was our day. 

It takes faith to pray for healing. But it takes great faith to pray for the acceptance of suffering – if it means more of Jesus and more glory to God. 

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." –Luke 22:42

Pray with us for God’s healing hand upon Kim’s body. But even more so pray that God would grant us the faith to submit to His will – no matter where that may lead. Because His ways are perfect and all His ways are just. 

“No healthy Christian ever chooses suffering; he chooses God's will, as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not.” –Oswald Chambers

In His Grace,

Peter & Kim