PET scan results and Doctors Call

Monday afternoon I received a call with voices I recognized from the Arizona clinic. It was both doctors on at once, and they had gotten my PET scan results. We were rejoicing together that the PET scan confirmed no sign of the former metastases in my liver, lymph, or anywhere else in my body, just the original tumor spot that still had some small "hot" spots, but with numbers that were low.

 I had been trying to prepare for the worst. (What if???) And the one morning in Arizona last week, I had been thinking about the verse in Romans where it talks about giving our bodies a living sacrifice.

"Living or dead," I said to God, "my body is Yours."

"But," God seemed to reply. "I didn't say for you to offer up a dying sacrifice."

"A living sacrifice," the verse says.

I thought of that, and just like that, the soggy fear left. For me, it seemed, at least for now, God is asking a living sacrifice.

My body is His, to serve Him with, not to serve myself but Him. 

And God has brought healing to much of my body. There is still a ways to go, and the doctors want me to keep getting herceptin now that my lungs are back to normal. 

I felt a little like the kitties above, that Jonathan discovered when he stopped at a fellow missionary's home, soaking in the warmth of the sunshine of encouraging news, while at the same time knowing that I cannot rest on my laurels, but must keep working at the job of completely getting rid of the cancer. 

For now, since the South Dakota clinic has still not heard from from the pharmacy, I must travel every couple weeks to Arizona for a few days at a time to get herceptin, which includes necessary bloodwork, IVs, etc.  

I was feeling bad about all the travel, packing, unpacking, planning travel meals, leaving again and just the hassle, but after unloading on Jonathan's broad shoulders on the phone a bit (he was at ACE hardware buying weather stripping for around the door at mission headquarters) I felt better. I've learned to manage--sort of. Even by myself, which is how it will have to be because of expense and Jonathan obviously has to work.

As I got off the phone, I started to go through our basket of Christmas cards, thinking to have us choose cards every evening worship time to pray for the senders. Didn't I find one I had somehow missed opening! And a $50 bill fell out of it.  I thought how I had just given a $50 bill to Gospel Center in Arizona for letting me stay there last week during my treatments. God gave it right back to me!

 As I checked through the cards again, I found another check! It seemed like God had allowed me to miss a couple checks so that just when I was feeling down about all the travel, stress, packing, and expenses, He would show me that He cared and was providing right on time! There was enough in that check to cover my trip down plus some. Then wouldn’t you know it, during family worship as Hannah reached in to pick a card and sender to pray for, a third check fell out! How on earth did I miss that one,too? Was God creating lost checks out of thin air?

Or letting our children in on the way He was providing? The timing was so special! This was definitely one time it “paid” to pray!  

 

So next weekend, Jonathan already has a ticket for me to fly back to AZ, this time from Sioux Falls, since we'll be in the Sioux Falls area that weekend for a missionary rally and clinic visit. 

I will try to make the best of the week ahead here in SD--even if it is to be bitterly cold!