Following The Path #1

On a Mountain Road in Peru.

I continue to follow the path laid out for me in the new cancer treatment. Except for taking pills everyday, I have completed the first cycle in my new cancer treatment. Thanks for your prayers. Side effects are minimal, drives to Emory tolerable, and I am seeking to glorify God. He has been so good, how can I not do that? 

Next Tuesday, on Cycle 2, Day 1, I hope I will get to hear some blood test results that will tell us whether the new stuff is beginning to work. Pray that way, please. 

When Trouble Comes

This week, I received a newsletter from a missionary friend who has some chronic health challenges, and she included the following quote from Joni Earickson Tada

Ephesians 1:3 - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,"

When a particular trouble intrudes into our life, it has a way of taking over. It dominates our thoughts, controls our emotions, saps our will, and drains our energy. Eventually, it crowds and bullies every good thing out of our day. As God’s children, we can’t let that happen. Today’s Scripture tells us God has blessed us in the heavenly realms. He’s given us peace of heart and mind—something the world craves but can’t find. He’s given us faith to pass through deep waters. He’s given us the grace to give and to let go. He’s given us the sweet knowledge that we have an eternal home in heaven, waiting for us just around the bend. He’s given us His own Spirit as Counselor and Comforter. He’s washed away our sins and forgotten our evil deeds. We have more going for us than His own angels, who have never tasted such grace. 

God, there are times when I give in to my pain or surrender to my anxiety, allowing these troubles to fill my heart with dread or fear. In such times, I ask You to remind me of all the gifts You have given me. Help me to wash away the dark thoughts with fresh gratitude and heartfelt praise.

Tada, Joni Eareckson. A Spectacle of Glory (p. 76). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.