Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. James 5:11 (ESV)
In his distress, Job accused God of wronging him and withholding justice (Job 19:6). But in the next breath, he erupts with this beautiful confession:
“I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God.” (Job 19:25–26)
When we’re struggling with the rocky path God has placed before us, we don’t need to pretend we don’t struggle. God invites us to bring our sorrows and confusion to our Father. As Paul Miller puts it, “The only way to come to God is by taking off any spiritual mask. The real you has to meet the real God.”
The above is an excerpt from desiringGod – When the Future You Planned for Never Come.
It is hard to believe that it has been 53 days since Melinda’s last Radiation and Chemo treatment. She is scheduled to start Chemo again, but it is on hold because of the severe stomach pains which have slowed her eating, as well as other medical issues she is having. This week, Melinda began having pains in her legs. The pain got so bad that I took her to the ER Thursday night. They ran a lot of test to rule out blood clots, low levels of nutrients, etc. The good news is they all came back normal, with the exception of a pregnancy test. The medicine they gave her in ER finally numbed the pain so they sent us home with a stop at the pharmacy for more pain medication.
The pain medication made her stomach hurt worse. It also possibly caused upper chest pain mimicking a heart attack. Needless to say I rushed her to ER again. All the test came back normal. The pain meds in ER once again stopped the pain she was having.
The ER doctor knows our primary doctor really well. Together, they decided that the best course of treatment for now may be pain management until they can figure out what is going on. They are trying a patch that slowly releases pain meds through the skin in hopes that bypassing the stomach will avoid the stomach issues. It appears that it is helping to control the pain. She did however vomit up her breakfast this morning, so I pray that it was my cooking and not more issues.
If you read this far you are probable thinking it was a typo above when I said she tested positive for being pregnant. Well, needless to say we told the doctor that was impossible since Melinda has a partial hysterectomy, I have had a vasectomy, and the act needed to make that happen has not. Of course, my daughter jokingly said have you not heard of the story of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. Anyway, we go this week to see her OB in a hopes to find out why she may be testing positive for being pregnant.
Please pray that Melinda’s pain will get under control, that she will be able to eat and keep down nutrients, and that the doctors will discover what may be causing all these issues.
Praying for you and your family during this MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF YEAR as it is only 17 days until JESUS’s Birthday.
