Cancer Update: Sustained
Well, it’s about that time again for a cancer update, and the first thing I must say is, “Wow.” Never have I felt so sustained; Ken and I feel so uplifted, like we are hydroplaning on your prayers, hovering way above the gut-wrenching hardships of this cancer. You friends are amazing, and I just had to tell you that at the onset… your prayers and Facebook posts; the comments you’ve left on my blog, all of it has poured the liquid gold of God’s grace into our hearts. Thank you.
Secondly, I have something to show you: There she is, our large and lumbering friend Jael. The big 3D-Conformal Radiation Machine which has become our fiercest ally in our battle against cancer. Why do I call it Jael? She’s the heroine in the book of Judges who ruthlessly drove a stake through Sisera’s head, nailing him to the ground in order to deliver Israel from her enemies. It sounds awful, but not when applied to a machine that ruthlessly obliterates enemy-cancer cells! Yep, Jael is our friend. And she’s got a great aim, just like the original Jael in the Bible.
I am well into my second week of radiation, and I am still energetic, experiencing lots of strength and stamina. Again, your prayers are at work! My radiologist described that the trajectory of the x-ray is “just” skimming my lungs, so I will not experience the damage to them I had once thought. I am far from half-way through my radiation regime, so please continue to pray that my energy will remain up.
Also, please pray that God will quiet the pain I’m still experiencing. It has nothing to do with cancer… it’s the same old pain I’ve talked about before in my back and hip. Ask God to alleviate that, please.
This cancer is considerable trouble, but I keep reminding it of Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.”
Yes, God is oh, so close to us. Just as Ken and I feel close to you.
God bless you, thank you for praying for the salvation of the doctors and staff with whom we are working with. Continue to visit my FB page and blog often for updates. Onward and upward and tomorrow morning? I have an appointment with my friend Jael, the machine that takes great aim at killing cancer.
–Joni Eareckson Tada
Pressing On: How to Lean on Christ through Suffering
After more than 55 years living with quadriplegia and chronic pain, Joni Eareckson Tada knows what it means to “press on” through suffering. Joni encourages you to join her in living out Philippians 3:14: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
