Good morning…
“Scanning now.”
Last Wednesday at 9:22 am, our Fab Five friends received this photo and this two-word text from Jennifer, Audrey’s mom. (You may remember that Audrey, a beloved Northside Church member, is a freshman at Notre Dame who has been journeying with neuroblastoma since she was five and a half years old.)
We all lifted fervent prayers throughout the day, trusting last week’s wisdom shared by Micheal Leach. “We are all one spiritual body. Any member can literally give another member her peace, across space and time, and the peace of both will increase and multiply.”
Mysteriously giving our peace across space and time, later we received Jennifer’s next text. “We are done. I’m going to take a long nap when we get home.” Then we waited for the scan results. Along with Audrey and her family, we waited and waited and waited.
On Monday at 10:56 am, Jennifer texted again. “Dr. Mosse from Philly on Saturday night confirmed Audrey’s scan is NED (No Evidence of Disease). Since Audrey is still battling lung issues, she doesn’t want to give any cancer treatments right now until the next scan. This is joyful news. We are still waiting for liquid biopsy to see if there are any cancer cells in the blood.” Soon after, a friend sent me the more detailed Facebook message below, written by Audrey’s dad, entitled “Hope Rekindling.”
The next email I opened was from Rev. Angela House, Associate Pastor at Northside Church. Seamlessly continuing the Spirt’s conversation, Angela shared this story. “My former Sunday school teacher from John Wesley United Methodist Church taught me that H.O.P.E. means:
1. Hanging on the promises of God.
2. Overcoming adversity in all situations.
3. Pursuing God’s truth.
4. Enduring the journey while you wait.
The hope we had in the past and the hope we have in the future comes from yesterday’s faith. Friend, because He lives, we can face tomorrow. Because He lives, we can have hope because we know who holds the future. As we trust God’s promises, we can look forward with hope.”
Right now, looking back on the words I have just typed, three truths stand out.
Across space and time, peace increases and multiplies.
Joyful news is shared.
Hope is rekindling.
So come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence because of our faith in Christ. We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what he promised (Hebrews 10:22b-23, ERV).
…Sue…
P.S. Here is the DeShetler’s Facebook post sharing more details.
