Monday, Jan. 3rd Update from Joni

Monday, January 3rd Update from Joni:

Happy New Year, friend, and I hope you enjoyed a blessed season celebrating Jesus’ birth. I want to share something special I learned over the holidays – you see, it was early on the morning of December 24 in 2003 when my mother-in-law died from pancreatic cancer in our home. It was an extremely sad day for us all, but especially for Ken who loved his mother dearly. Watching my husband doubled over in grief, I remember thinking, Lord, why Christmas Eve? Why not January 6 or December 3? From now on, Christmas Eve will be marked by so much sadness for Ken. And for the next six years, it was.
 
Now fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. Unlike previous Christmas Eve’s, December 24, 2010 was marked by such overwhelming JOY!! It’s because Ken and I were celebrating life – my life. Cancer had not claimed me, praise the Lord, and our delight in the gift of life was made sweeter in contrast to the sadness of death that Ken normally associated with Christmas Eve. Our joy was so much more “joyous” because of God’s thing about contrasts – sunny days seem more bright set against the storm; peace seems more peaceful set against conflict; health is more precious set against disease; life is more sweet set against death, and so it goes. How wise of God to have planned it that way.
 
On Tuesday, January 4, I’ll be undergoing a PET-scan to see if my chemotherapy was successful – please ask God to guide the technicians and help them pinpoint anything suspicious (although I trust chemo and this daily medication I’m on will have eradicated any maverick cancer cells floating around :-). Psalm 79:8 says, “… may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.” Yep, that’s me. Always in desperate need of God’s mercy. And I bet that describes you, too :-).