I have been home for 7 days now and so far Sandy doesn’t want to discharge me! She said I could stay a while longer! Healing is going well but mentally it seems so slow. But all I have to do is think of other individuals that are going through or have gone through much worse challenges than I and I must close my mouth and be thankful.
Today, when I think what has taken place the past 12 months and especially the past 3 weeks I get overwhelmed with thanksgiving. I am so thankful for:
- My faithful God and Saviour Jesus Christ who promised to keep me, promised to never leave me, promised to never forsake me, promised to love me, promised to protect me, promised to give me all I need, and I could go on for pages…. What an awesome LORD, there is no one like Him!
- God’s word – it sustains me, gives me eternal life, comforts me, reveals to me what is true – so important when there are so many lies out there.
- A family that genuinely loves and cares for me. They have been tested and they shine forth. Our kids have honored Sandy and I like no other parents could enjoy. Sandy has gone through the wringer and has been so faithful.
- A church family that demonstrates biblical Christianity in how they weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. How God has stirred in their hearts to encourage, to pray, to give, to help…. Wow, they have honored God – they get it – how ministry is supposed to work. We are so blessed!
- Others friends around the world who do the same – just amazingly generous. How can this be? It has to be a God-thing…
- The tumor is GONE! – How God used the doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff that are very skilled at what they do to answer our prayers and get this thing off my face!
- This affliction – yes, this affliction. It is a journey I would not volunteer for but one that God chose me for - it pressed me toward my Saviour, knowing nothing can touch me without His loving care and always meant for my good and His glory. It’s all about Him, not about us. We have to start with God (not ourselves) to make sense of things.
- I am thankful to be alive – I am so blessed to have had 58 years of no hospitals, no surgeries, two eyes and good health.
- For all the prayer intercessors on my behalf! You definitely made the difference!!! I thank God for you.
Prayer requests:
- Continued healing of my body - my left back where tissue was taken (staples to be removed Monday), throat (8 inch cut) where lymph nodes were removed, left face where flap is (looks like a large skin-colored pouch from forehead to bottom of nose) – that it heals correctly (will take months)
- Challenges of finding my new normal – one eye and all the surgery challenges, vocation, get back to prison ministry
- I make the right choices going forward to help my body be cancer free (close, but not quite there yet).
Steve & Sandy
Isaiah 25:1 “O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.”
No comments:
Post a Comment