Love comes down.

When Nelson was hospitalized, Ann Sophie sat nearby and sketched what she was thinking and seeing. Here’s the result.

There’s Nelson, tucked into his bed (with the plastic mattress) in a sitting position, as always. And there she is, close by with baby Will on her lap. The most fascinating part of the sketch, though, is that God is there too. His hand is covering all three of them, as well as the IV pole and the nurses’ computer, two important items. And his hand is delivering multiple gifts of love.

I think the key word might be “covering.”

I (Nelson’s mom) am back in southwest Michigan right now, since 15 of my 16 grandchildren have come to town. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Ann Sophie’s mom is providing a third pair of hands.

But no matter where we are or what the schedule dictates on any given day, we all know we have God’s covering of love. And thanks to you, Reader, we also have your covering of prayer.

In the last two days, the Mayo doctors have been trying to figure out a wise approach for the next phase of Nelson’s care. Though they’re excited about finding the mutation that will allow immunotherapy, they can’t go blindly into that next treatment without letting his current treatment (i.e. chemotherapy) work its way out of his system.

If they move too soon, the treatment Nelson might overwhelm him. The old expression “hold your horses” seems to apply. We want immunotherapy treatment asap, but their wisdom says, “Hold on a minute.”

Complicating everything is the blood thinner Nelson’s taking to work steadily on the large blood clot beneath his collar bone. It usually takes months to dissolve a clot like that, so he won’t be off blood thinners any time soon. In the mean time, when Nelson asks, ”What can I do to help?”, he gets this answer:

“Just don’t go anywhere, don’t get sick, don’t cut yourself, and watch for anything abnormal. The second anything happens, go right to the ER.”

Though this sounds threatening, Nelson is taking it in stride, because as he often says, “It’s always too soon to panic.” He’s simply living out his own advice. And he fully believes God is, indeed, covering him, pouring love into his life steadily as Ann Sophie’s sketch shows, no matter what’s happening around him.

A college friend of mine, Pam, has been sending us pictures, laminated cards, a beautiful necklace, an umbrella coloring book, and many other umbrella-related items in an effort to say the same thing: we are covered—both by God’s love and by the prayers of many. We are thankful!

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)