Cancer Update
Friends,
Daniel and I thank you for the many, many prayers that you’ve offered on our behalf over the last year or so. We are thankful and humbled by the rally that has come around us. We are asking you, now, to continue to keep our family lifted in prayer. The short version is that the doctors have found a spot in his abdomen that is neither lymph node nor cancer but, presumably, somewhere in between. The biopsy revealed it is “suspicious and similar” to the cancer that was removed last year. His blood tests haven’t indicated cancer. So…the mystery area will be coming out. Wednesday he is scheduled to have this major surgery. It will be a five hour procedure followed by 4-5 days in the hospital. We know our God is faithful and mighty. We know He is with us. Our prayer is (obviously) for Daniel to be completely healed of cancer and for this story to be used for God’s glory. Our hope is in an unfailing God. Thank you for standing with us this Wednesday and the days that follow. You are dear to us.
When Helping Helps (Or Why We Should Go)
(Disclaimer: Sweeping statements and generalizations are used to avoid choppy wording that constantly attempts to appropriately qualify ideas. If they don’t apply or are offensive to you, well…sorry.)
There have been waves of teaching and talking within humanitarian circles lately about not being the “white missionary”. Americans have, at times, come in to a new place with pride, privilege, savior mentalities and do more harm than help. While I’ve not seen anyone write directly “stop going”, knee-jerk reactions to the harm caused might lead one to draw conclusions that, sometimes, we should stop going and rather just send money to those working within their own culture.
I’ve read, valued, processed, learned from and appreciated these writings. There is truth to these thoughts but, at the same time, something in my gut was very much bothered.
It is human nature to have a pendulum type response. One generation responds to the stale religion of the previous generation with an over-corrected idea of grace that often time lacks righteousness. It is in this pendulum swinging behavior that I’ve realized my problem with these ideas. This is a dangerous way to respond to error yet it’s human nature.
But here’s the thing. We are commanded to “Go into all the world”. The Author of the plan to spread to Good News has entrusted us with it. If we don’t share it, it won’t be shared. The Church is His very plan to help.
I’m not dismissing these teachings…but requesting that we don’t dismiss the command with the desire to use caution in properly executing the command. Read these books, be challenged by them but don’t let the fear of harming stop us from moving forward.
When we help we should help like Jesus did. He humbled himself, He did not consider His position something to be grasped. We do not help because we are better, we help because we can and because we are commanded to. Woe to us if we do not preach the Gospel.
Cancer: We’ll see
The “next guy” talked with the “last guy” and they agreed to wait one more month and do some more tests. The question is if he’ll need major surgery or not after that. Of course, that’s not ideal but at the same time we know God is with us and is caring for us. We trust he will be healed. Our God is the Creative One who authored both miracles and medicine. Thank you for your continued prayers…it makes a significant difference in our days and lives.
The Word of God says in 2 Timothy 4:17 “The Lord stood with me and strengthened me”.
Last Day with The Chemo
Tomorrow (or today if you’re reading this Friday) is his last day of chemo. I’m relieved, I’m happy to be done with this business…but celebrating isn’t my first response.
It’s odd. From the outside looking in, within the coming weeks so long as the cancer is gone as we hope, our life will look “normal” again. Our days will look like this never happened. And yet my heart feels far from normal. As much I as miss the days of our regular busy-ness with school, life, ministry and parenting returning to that seems _________________ (impossible? unlikely? not right? disrespectful?) I can’t quite find the word to fit the feeling. Our lives and our focus will be refined and adjusted.
This time has been diffucult, amazing, blessed, hard, exhausting. We’ve had prayers answered and God show up in ways that blow us away on days when his nausea wouldn’t leave. Friends and family have loved for us in ways that leave us without a way to find words but only tears. We’ve been so cared for that everything was done for us that could be done yet we had to carry the biggest burden of our lives alone with our Lord.
Our armor feels a bit banged up and perhaps disheveled. But it’s there. And that’s what armor is for. God’s faithfulness hasn’t left us for a moment.
I long for a memorial, a testimony, a collective deep breath for our family. We are not satisfied with only the cancer leaving. We want God to be glorified as a result of us stumbling and being carried through this season both by our support system and, even more so, Jesus. Please continue to keep us in prayer. The exit of this season seems near-daunting…but we know our Lord is Emmanuel, God with us.
