Category Archives: Disease

Happy Birthday, Mary!

Posted on by

Party timeToday my sister turns 71, and it’s tempting to wish we were back last year at this same time. None of us knew then about the deadly cancer that was just around the corner, and we celebrated her 70th with the assumption her life would continue for many years, maybe even decades. After all, Dad and Mom both lived to 92, so why shouldn’t she?

But this year, short of the Lord’s miraculous intervention, a different scenario is unfolding for Mary. Whatever her future looks like, though, it’s really a future that belongs to God, because decades ago Mary handed over the reins of her life to him. That’s the one-and-only reason she can nod and say, “It’s ok by me, Lord.”

Actually it’s more than just ok. Mary has let God do the choosing for her all the way along (not just with cancer but with everything), so she’s fully on board. If God flat-out gave her a choice, she might prefer to go the distance like Mom and Dad, but at this point all indications are he’s got something else in mind for her.

This seismic shift has been a challenge to accept, and those of us around her have had a harder time with it than she has, proof that she has totally abandoned herself to her heavenly Father’s will.

IMG_4973Mary was a compliant child, a person who loved to please. That character trait has continued through her life, first wanting to please her earthly father, then her heavenly Father. The key has been trusting them both wholeheartedly, sincerely believing that their ideas, first her father’s, then her Father’s, were always the best ones, whether painful or painless. And when we’re sure something is for the best, it’s easier to accept.

Several of Mary and Bervin’s children and grandchildren came to town to make this birthday a very special one with a swimming party, dinner out, gifts, and lots of memory-making.

But as always, Mary’s main concern on her birthday was that they all had a good time.

“The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.” (Psalm 25:10)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Thanks be to God for a very happy day receiving birthday phone calls and texts from loved ones, and spending time celebrating with family.
  2. Please pray that my energy levels will be high enough to enjoy all the upcoming holiday fun.

 

Keep on Keeping On

Posted on by

Scripture promises that God will watch over his family and “keep them.” (That means us.) But how do these promises of tender care jive with the facts of cancer and other maladies, especially those that resist treatment and then threaten to kill?

I love the word “keep.” It implies being held closely, protectively. In relation to an adult keeping a child, it’s a picture of putting self between the defenseless one and danger.

From the perspective of the one who’s doing the keeping, it means taking on a serious responsibility and implies that the role was assumed willingly without any “have to’s.” From the view of the one being kept, it promises safety.

Many of the Bible’s word pictures show us this kind of “keeping.” God says he will:

  • Keeping.keep us under his feathers.
  • cradle us in his everlasting arms.
  • engrave us on the palms of his hands.

Scripture also shows us what happens if we make a choice to “keep” ourselves rather than letting God do it.

In Matthew 23, Jesus has been teaching in Jerusalem’s temple and suddenly becomes overwhelmed with emotion. He looks out at the city and expresses deep, loving longing toward the Jews living there, speaking especially to those who don’t believe he is the Messiah.

Jesus senses their rebellious hearts and paints a word picture of a mother hen gathering her chicks beneath her to warm them and shelter them from harm. In other words, to keep them. It seems to break his heart when he says, “…but you were not willing.”

The Lord never forces himself on us but waits for an invitation. But he won’t water down his message to make it seem more appealing. He tells the whole truth and challenges people to believe he is who he says he is. If they refuse? Then, he says, “Your house is left to you desolate.” (Matthew 23:37-38)

God is keeping...I’ve been thinking of all this in relation to Mary. Despite her cancer, I believe God is “keeping her.” But how? Jude 1:24 says he’s “keeping her from stumbling,” which I take to mean stumbling spiritually. And it’s that faith in Christ that will carry (keep) her through even the most difficult cancer-days.

Another way God promises to keep her is on those days when she finds herself in great need. He says he’ll “keep the needy safe.” (Psalm 12:7) He also says he’ll “keep her mind and her heart” through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

For Mary (and really, the rest of us, too), when our time in this world finishes, the Lord promises to keep us from all harm as we “go” from Earth and “come” to Heaven, even if it’s by way of cancer.

“The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:7-8)

Praising and Praying with Mary

Please continue to pray for peace of mind during the night. Pray also that I’ll get better and better at taking just one day at a time.

God’s Waiting Room

Posted on by

Life is full of waiting. We wait for paperwork to arrive in the mail, investments to grow, and phone calls to come. We wait for our kids to graduate, our incomes to go up, and the scale to go down. We wait in government offices, theater lobbies, bus stops, and airports.

None of us are any good at waiting. We want results, and we want them yesterday. With the whole world on fast-forward, it irritates us to have to push the pause button, especially when anxiety is running high.

WaitingThe waiting rooms of doctors’ offices might just as accurately be called “anxiety rooms.” As a person waits, she may have an open magazine on her lap, but her mind is far away, pondering the what-ifs. Whether we’re upset about new symptoms, waiting for a specific diagnosis, or wondering what our treatment will be, the feeling is the same: apprehension.

I remember waiting to hear what was physically wrong with Nate, wondering if our lives might radically change with what we would be told. Mary had to wait, too, through 6 long months of chemo and the scans that followed, to find out what was happening inside her body.

Tomorrow Mary, Bervin, and Luke will move into yet another waiting room as they meet with Mary’s oncologist to discuss any remaining options available to her. And as a result of whatever they’ll learn, in a sense she’ll be waiting again.

I have a friend who also had cancer and suffered through lots of nervous waiting. Asking for prayer as she awaited information, she sent a group email that included an interesting choice of words: “I’m in God’s waiting room.”

The minute I read that I knew she was going to rise above her circumstances, because she had lined up with God’s sovereignty over her life, even a life involving cancer. Mary has done the same, and Nate did, too. No fidgeting while waiting, no “why me,” no “how could you!” and no anger. Sure, all of them had questions and struggled with nervousness, but they fixed their gaze on their all-wise heavenly Father as they waited.

God's waiting roomWhile the world’s waiting rooms are marked by angst and dread, God’s waiting room has divine purposes for each occupant. Instead of magazines to read, he offers security. Instead of stale coffee, he hands out contentment. Instead of frayed nerves, he provides peace.

When we learn of cancer, life comes to a screeching halt, but God never stands still. He continues to energetically put a plan in motion that will eventually pour considerable blessing into people, even those with cancer, and especially those who commit to obedient stays in his waiting room.

“Since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” (Isaiah 64:4)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Pray for clarity and wisdom tomorrow in the 2:00 meeting with the oncologist (and the wait beforehand).
  2. I praise God for a delightful day spent with my two siblings, Tom and Margaret. […tomorrow’s blog]