One day down, three to go

“All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,’ declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 41:11-14


A powerful reminder hanging on my fighting wall given to me by one of the sweet children from our church.

Early on in this battle, a precious cancer survivor from our church prayed these verses over me. I am sharing them with you now because they continue to be the prayer of my heart as we continue on this road – especially with more scans peeking into my body tomorrow.

This cancer survivor said this passage encouraged her in her own battle as it provided beautiful imagery of the enemy (cancer) being put to shame, disgraced, overtaken and utterly destroyed by our Lord and Redeemer. The Lord says, “When you search for your enemies, you will not find them.” That means when I undergo PET scans, MRIs and CT scans, we pray and boldly ask the Lord that the cancer will no longer be thriving but destroyed. I also love the promise from the Lord not to fear because He alone will help me. He isn’t sending someone else to do the dirty work. He doesn’t even need chemo, radiation or chemo pills for that matter. He just needs to show up and do His thing (which no one else in all creation can, by the way). And, we continue to persistently pray in faith He will.

Of course, one of the most beautiful aspects of this passage for me is that He promises to to rescue me by taking hold of my right hand with His righteous right hand (see vs. 10). You see, I am not supposed to have a right hand, much less one that works. So, I just smile with a gratitude and awe-filled delight to already be living proof of the Lord’s power against this disgusting enemy inside my body.

And so, we face tomorrow with the same faith and bold request we had today (and have had every day since my diagnosis) – that God would totally eradicate all of the cancer cells from my body forever so I may be a living testimony of His miraculous loving-kindness, power and faithfulness.

Thank you my faithful “warriors” for continually going to battle on your knees for me and my family (and all involved in fighting this enemy). I was driving to BSF last week when I realized I couldn’t call you prayer warriors anymore. You deserved the title, “warriors” because this battle is so intense, and I felt that battle last week driving to BSF. The pain was real and so was the mental anguish. As I started to pray out loud, peace swept over me and the pain disappeared. In that moment, I knew it wasn’t just my prayer being answered but the many prayers each of you send to the Father on my behalf. And that’s an intense battle, my friends. It is physical, emotional, mental – but most of all – it is spiritual. The real Enemy isn’t cancer. The real Enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), and I just believe he wants to use this cancer to wreak his havoc. And, that is why you are my “warriors.” You are fighting not only against the death of cancer cells but also against “the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12).

Heavy stuff – I know all too well. I literally feel the “battle” in my bones at times. And, I just want to thank you for standing alongside me, especially on these marathon days at MDA.

DAY #1 UPDATE
- I had my blood work taken as well as my chest CT scan and MRI of my full spine. The MRI was a doozie, and I’m so thankful it is over. For the first time in approximately 15 MRIs, I had to ask the tech to stop so I could move my legs. Little did I know I only had 2 minutes left of the two-hour procedure, but I had reached my limit. My legs & pelvis were really hurting. My bottom-side had fallen asleep, which ironically was painful too. My tailbone and elbows felt raw from the hard table and the lack of extra padding on my body. My head was nestled in a brace with two foam blocks on each side ensuring I didn’t move a muscle. Even my ear plugs felt constricting. I had that panic-stricken feeling I was never getting out and my legs were sweating. Even with verses, songs and prayers running through my head, I said, “Enough.” (By the way, I have never had the privilege of listening to music during a scan at MDA.) The tech was so sweet. He removed my blanket, helped stretch out my legs while making sure I didn’t move my hips to the left or right in order to keep my position aligned. I said I felt much better, and I went back into the jack-hammer sound producing tube for two more minutes of scans. We pray, dear Lord, these scans of my chest and spine come back clean and cancer-free.

PRAYER REQUESTS FOR TOMORROW
- It will be another early morning and long day. We awoke at 4:45 this morning, and tomorrow will require a 4am alarm. Due to predicted sleet, we expect a very LONG commute to MDA from our home base in Humble, TX. I need to be at MDA at 6:15am for the MRI of my pelvis. Would you please pray for alertness and safety on our commute to and from MD?

- I had to fast this morning until 11am (for my CT scan). I will have to fast tomorrow until my PET scan is over which will be around 4pm. Please pray for endurance, energy and strength through the day. I can drink water but that is it. Also pray I won’t be grumpy because when I am hungry – I get grumpy.

- Of course, we are praying Isaiah 41 over these continued scans, especially the PET scan which will be an in-depth head-to-toe look at my body. Again, we are asking the Lord for clean scans and for my ability to remain still through two more long procedures. (Both should last approximately an hour.)

- I will be in isolation for an hour following my radioactive injection prior to my PET scan. Pray I will be able to abide in Jesus – finding joy and peace in Him as I wait. Due to the radioactivity I will be emitting, I will not be able to touch Alexa for twelve hours following the scan. Pray for Alexa to understand why Mommy can’t hold and hug her. Mommy is always sad about this.

- I love Dr. Brown! He is compassionate, caring and a brilliant doc. I am praying I like him even more at our appointment tomorrow when he says my spine and hip/pelvis look clean after the stereotactic radiation he performed in November. Please join me in praying for great news from Dr. Brown. I am also asking him to take a look at the CT scan of my chest to see if he sees anything suspicious concerning the pain I’ve been having. I would prefer to get his take on this before meeting with Dr. Benjamin who is less compassionate – at least in my eyes.

”And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18

Thank you, my mighty warriors, for fighting every second of this battle with me. Love you!