"Therefore anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."
Matthew 18:4 NLT
We also got an e-mail from some friends of ours that are adopting a little girl, Abbey, from Russia. They just got back from their first trip to see her. When I read all that Abbey's little life has been like & realized that she won't have anyone around to wish her a Happy Birthday this year, I was completely humbled & felt like a big jerk. So, the Lord once again used adoption to touch my life & convict me.
Enough about me. On to the reason you are here:
Ben
He is doing okay, but still feels yucky. Our former neighbor, who is a physician, called to check on Ben the other day. When I told her that he wasn't feeling well, she said, "Remind him that this means the chemo is working!" What an awesome encouragement for Ben!! He went into this battle saying that he didn't want to know any side effects because he didn't want to put the idea in his mind, thus creating the side effect. We also had quite a few people tell us that it would be the 3rd or 4th treatment before he would get sick. With all of that, he was quite discouraged that he wasn't feeling well! However, our friend offered the exact words of encouragement that he needed. When I shared her thoughts with him over dinner, his exact words were, "I needed to hear that!" So, thank you, Michelle!
Ben missed class on Monday because he felt so bad, yesterday he didn't have any classes to go to at all (professors were out of town)! So, the man that usually wakes up before the sun slept until about noon. Then, he got up, feeling better, & helped around the house. He did about ten loads of laundry, unpacked boxes, hung pictures, etc. What a stud! So, the mornings are a bit tougher is what we're gathering! One of the side effects that he is experiencing that is more annoying to him than anything is peripheral neuropathy (a.k.a. his fingertips are numb). This is a common side effect for Vinblastine (one of his chemo drugs) which is made from a plant in the Periwinkle family!! Useless trivia!
Another friend of ours shared a secret that oatmeal helped one of her friends get through chemo! Thank you, Sonja, for the great suggestion. Ben has had oatmeal every morning since & he said it does help considerably!
Ben went to class today. He felt pretty bad when he woke up, but he forced himself to get up & get ready. He missed his first class because it just took him longer to get ready today. However, he left in time to study & go to his lab! I believe that he will have a make-up test or two tomorrow. So, please be in prayer for his studying!
The Lord just keeps placing precious people in our lives that are blessing us considerably! Our Sunday School class has signed up to bring meals to us on the days that Ben is receiving chemo. We also have a friend who works for a physician that had Hodgkins Lymphoma (like Ben, but his was more advanced). This physician has changed his practice & it is now more focused on nutrition & supplements. When Ben was first diagnosed, our friend shared Ben's story & outlook with the physician. He gifted Ben with hundreds of dollars worth of supplements. WOW! Praise the Lord!! Ben was running low on some of the supplements & so we called our friend, Diane, to see if we could get some more & to find out how much we owed. She said that these were "on her!" WOW again!! The Lord keeps amazing us with the precious hearts he places in our path. We keep getting enormous bills in the mail from the hospital, doctors, etc., & so generosity like this just continues to encourage us that God is watching out for every little detail! Thank you, Lord, & thank you, Diane, for being a vessel for the Lord!!
So, that is where we are right now! Thank you for caring enough to check in...
Prayers:
*The chemo keeps killing the cancer, but that Ben will feel well enough to do well in his classes, etc.
*Ben's studying for his tests.
*Abbey in Russia that she will receive nourishment, love, & that she will recognize her parents when they arrive. Also, that the 10-day waiting period will be waived for her new family.
*Granny (my grandmother would return to health (her BP has been fluctuating)!
Thank you all for your prayers, love, & for being vessels for Him!
We love you all!!
1 comment:
hey meridith/ben... I have Lance Armstrong's books that he wrote regarding his fight against cancer... They are not biblical because I do not think he is a christian, but they do offer a lot of encourangement. it helped me a lot when I was feeling sick going through my treatments. He gave the description in his book about being sick during the treatments meant that was the body expelling the cancer out of his body.
you can borrow them if you'd like...
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