Hello all,
I wanted to let everyone know that I am doing better with this round of chemo than the last two. Yea God! I went for a blood transfusion on Tuesday and I believe that is helping me with my fatigue. I have begun my daily shots in my stomach again (how many people can say their husband shoots them every day?) This should help keep my blood counts from “going back into the toilet”. My doctor sure has a way with words.
I don’t really have any more health updates at this point but wanted to share some verses that God put on my heart today. The first is from 2 Thessalonians 1:4 . . . O Lord, I want others to be able to boast to You about my perseverance and faith in any persecutions and trials I endure.
I feel God calling me to witness to His faithfulness is all things which is a lot of pressure. As you know, I’m not always shiny but I do know that it’s not my shininess that will get me into heaven. I just want to do the best job I can do to give God the glory while I am here.
That verse was in a devotional book which also showed 2nd Timothy. “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois, and in your mother, Eunice, and I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a power of love and of self-discipline. A couple things struck me with this verse. First, my grandmother battled breast cancer and survived. She didn’t have the spirit of timidity but had the power of love and self-discipline. She was a tough cookie filled with a soft and lovable inside! Second, a group of shepherding care elders are coming to our house this week to lay their hands on me and pray for healing. I think this will be another huge step in this journey.
Another verse came back to me from an earlier e-mail from Exodus 14:13-14 You, Lord, will fight for me, help me only to be still. I was confused at the striking differences between verses. Do I stand firm and fight this illness or do I be still and let God fight. Then, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 came to me. A Time for Everything. I won’t type these verses out as they are very long and I have already typed much already. If you don’t know it, it is a great verse to look up. And if you do know it, it’s a great verse to relearn. There is a time for everything, even cancer. Right now this illness is giving me my time to get to know God so very closely. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I would, however, love to get past this time where cancer is taking more energy that I want to give to it I would much rather use that energy for helping others and sharing that love that God has given me.
So, as a prayer request, please pray that I will know whether it is “time to be silent” or a “time to speak” Or a time to listen or a time to e-mail! Please also keep our family’s health in your prayers. We seem to have a round of colds coming on.
Thank you for reading this, for growing with me, for your gifts that have helped me focus, your cards and e-mails that have encouraged me immensely and mostly for your prayers.
Love & hugs as always,
Kristi
