Knocked Down....BUT NOT OUT!!!!

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

As I update our blog tonight, I want everyone to know that our faith is strong, our hope is secure, and we know Ron is in God's strong and mighty hands. From the beginning of this year, we have been on an incredible faith journey. Many of the challenges in this journey have seemed daunting at the time, but each turn in the road has led us to find that God is there to assure us that He is with us to help us and give us His strength and peace.

Since Saturday, we have been in the hospital at the Cancer Treatment Center in Tulsa. Ron's treatments were going well, but the primary issue of concern has been the intense back pain that has continued even though he has had surgeries and treatments that were intended to help. And then this last Saturday, the pain peaked like never before, and we were admitted to the hospital. After tests done over the last couple of days, we were told that the pain is because Ron's back is literally broken at the T-10 vertebrae which has been consumed by another tumor, that is compressing the nerves. With his back not being supported in that area and the pain so significant, right now he is completely bedfast....unable to move at all because of the intense pain and strong pain medications. The immediate solution provided to us, tomorrow or Friday, is to be implanted with a Medtronic pump that will feed pain medication directly into the spinal canal to go straight to the source of pain, instead of having to receive the present medications that have so significantly impacted clear thinking and communicating.

So, this is another one of those times in our faith journey, when fear and the temptation to be dismayed could easily overtake us, and for a brief period, I WAS overcome with questions about our future when we received the results of the tests. But as I woke yesterday on my little roll-out chair bed in the hospital room beside my Honey’s hospital bed, I was reminded to “take one day at a time” and also I heard the words of a beautiful song by Bill and Gloria Gaither, “Because He Lives”. The chorus goes like this:

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know, He holds my future,
My life is worth the living, just because He lives.”

We most certainly don’t know what our future holds, but we do know Who holds our future and He promised to never leave us or forsake us – oh what comfort! In the midst of the storm, Jesus came walking on the water to the disciples. He did that for us this week when the storm seemed the most violent. He showed up for us in the person of a beautiful, sensitive, caring hospitalist at CTCA. In the emergency room we were introduced to Dr. Don King. We came to find out that he was the Director of the City of Faith and was Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin and other notable leaders’ physician. He so precisely provided the wisdom, support and understanding we needed to hear, both medically and spiritually. He counseled us with all the medical facts we needed to hear and then would, symbolically, take off his physician hat, and put on his brother-in-Christ hat, and declare God’s promises to us – (i.e., “He will never leave you or forsake you”. “Nothing is impossible with God.”) – just confirming the words we have lived by throughout this journey.

So, our journey continues, believing God to give wisdom and direction to our medical team and to us, and to especially give my Honey the much needed relief and comfort he needs. We know God is undergirding us during this time. Please pray with us that the surgery goes well, that the recovery period is short and that the intended purposes are successful and accurate. Thank you so much for your continued love and support.