April 9, 2011

April 9, 2011

Greetings:

It is time for an update. In actual fact, though, there is really nothing new to tell. But that, in itself, is something to rejoice about.

It is good to reflect on the blessings of God even when, or especially when, there is nothing dramatic going on. The Lord allows things to go in a 'normal' way. We have fallen into a routine with a six week cycle of chemo treatment which has kept the cancer at bay. Our heavenly Father has altered what we humans thought to be a certain decline to physical death some four months ago and grants us to live mainly a normal life each day again.

By doing so He has focussed our thoughts on many things we surely knew but hardly stressed as much as we do now. We have learned to depend on divine control over our lives on a daily basis. We have been reminded that man may plan but God will decide. We have been relieved of the stress of directing our lives by looking to Him for guidance on a daily basis. We remain responsible for our behaviour and activities in what we do but do not have to fret about what will happen. We have learned that God decides that and His ways are higher than our ways. We try to enjoy the blessings of each day trusting that what tomorrow will bring will be something we can deal with tomorrow.

While we can say that nothing is really new, we really do try to recognize that God's blessings are new every day. In that sense we rejoice each day again that we are allowed to follow the routines we have set for ourselves and to enjoy them without much interruption. At the same time we are also thinking about the possibility that we might be allowed to travel next month to visit our children and grandchildren in Manitoba and Ontario. That would certainly be a wonderful blessing.

We continue to have good contact by phone and/or skyp but a face to face visit for a week at each address would certainly be an even greater experience. A final decision about such a trip will not be made until my visit to the cancer clinic on the 27th and we find out more about the state of my health.

In the meantime we were blessed in being able to have sold our house and arrangements have been made for us to live in a basement suite with our daughter and son in law and their five children. There are many reasons for us to look forward to that arrangement. The reduction in living area will be dramatic and will take some getting used to but it will reduce the amount of area to look after and eliminate the stair travel and divided living we presently experience with three floors. All the moving is scheduled for the end of April and so will be done before we would leave on our holiday.

As far as we know we will continue on the same chemo treatment that we have been subject to for the last 36 weeks. We have not been able to hear about any long-range plans for our treatment from the doctor. This fits in with the doctor's frequent expression of surprise at my condition and also with our dependance on the Lord and our desire to live one day at a time by His grace.

We pray that the Lord will continue to bless the medications we receive and that He will also continue to provide us with faith and trust in Him for each new day and for how the future will unfold.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!