Cancer and Christmas

Updates: 

• On Sunday morning I was getting ready for church and realized I had a hole in my chest! I saw straight through to the tubing for my cancer port. My doctors wanted me to get it removed immediately. On Monday I had a procedure to remove it and sew up my wound. 
• On Tuesday I had surgery to get a new port on the other side of my chest. On Wednesday I picked up again with my eighth chemo treatment. It has been a full week! 

Prayer Requests and Praises:

• Having a hole in your chest means you are incredibly exposed and high risk for infection. I have not gotten an infection thus far praise the Lord! Please pray for my wounds to heal properly. 
• It is miraculous that my infusion treatment was only delayed two days. The surgeries this week were back-to-back, but it is a real blessing because every week is important with stage 4. 
• This was an unexpected turn of events! We would love your prayers as I recover and as Jenny continues to take care of the family. 

What I am Learning: 

• I am going to be honest… I did not want to get a new port. The chemo I am on requires a port so that it doesn’t burn up my veins. It is necessary, but I was not looking forward to it again. Discovering the hole in my chest immediately changed the course of the week and there were a lot of unknowns. How long will it take to fix this issue and get the new port? How many days or weeks of treatment might I miss? Will this impact Christmas? What about infection? 
• The phrase of Scripture that kept coming to my mind was “The Lord is your keeper” from Psalm 121.

 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 121:3–8)

• I thought about this phrase before my urgent doctor’s appointment. I thought about this phrase as I was on the operating table. I thought about it before I went to sleep. The Lord promises to keep me regardless of what happens, and he promises the same for you!

What Has Been Encouraging: 

• God has been answering prayer. Even when it looked like I could have a delay with my treatment, I was only delayed two days. Thank you for praying! 
• The Songs of Ascent show God hears his people when they cry out for deliverance. “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.” (Psalm 120:1) 
• The original nativity scene didn’t look picturesque. They couldn’t find room in the city to sleep, they were desperate to have a safe place for Mary to give birth, and they had to resort to putting Jesus into a feeding trough. But God was in total control and working all things together for his majestic glory. We can see how beautiful and wonderful the nativity is because his hand was upon each person and moment.
• When we trust in Jesus – in his life, death, and resurrection – we can have confidence that he is working all things together for our good and his glory. I am not sure what is taking place in your life right now, but don’t forget to marvel at the wonderful love of Christ this Christmas. Merry Christmas!