Good morning…
“It’s been a hard week” is the title of the most recent blog post shared by our good friend’s daughter-in-law, 37-year-old Elizabeth, who is journeying through treatment for advanced colon cancer. Harsh side effects from her chemo regimen are painful and pervasive. One of their three kids had strep on Christmas Eve. Their Christmas Eve service at church was cancelled due to a power outage. By mid week, Elizabeth ended up in the ER, weak and dehydrated. Through a CT scan the radiologist noticed a new spot on her other ovary. “But we are praying for these tumors to shrink, not to spread,” my mama bear instincts rise up from the uncertainty.
Still out of the soil of this hard week, a touching love story sprouts and blooms.
“The sweetest gift of Christmas morning, was a cross that Margaret made for me on her own,” writes Elizabeth of their 8-year-old daughter, the oldest. “She found the supplies in the art cabinet and wrapped it herself. The cross says, ‘Jesus will heal you.’ Then she wrote FAITH on the upright portion of the cross. I love her confidence in the power of our Jesus. You can imagine how I wept when I opened this gift.”
Jesus, our companion through the hardest of weeks, reminds us: “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20, NIV).
Pain can feel like an immovable mountain and fears can easily erode our joy, but Margaret’s bold gift encourages all of us, “With faith in the healing power of Jesus, nothing will be impossible for you.”
“What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts,” Jesus reminds us in Luke 6:45b (ERV). Even in the midst of this very hard week, I love that the heart of this young family is filled with love, joy, and faith, juicy fruits of the Holy Spirit of God blossoming beautifully amid life’s pain.
“God is in our midst,” writes Elizabeth. “Do you see him working? I’ve had so many moments of doubt in recent days, but I must lean into the mighty One. I am weak. I am weary, but He is the thrill of hope that makes the weary world rejoice.”
Let’s join this faithful family of five in their current prayer requests:
- Please continue to pray for visible shrinkage of tumors at the scan in January.
- Pray for my physical discomforts to subside as the week progresses.
- Pray that we’d cling to the light and not be consumed by the darkness and fears (there are many).
- Praise God for the ways he continues to provide for us along this very hard road.
…Sue…
