Bruce's Cancer Blog Post 2

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

I have called you by name; you are mine.

When you go through deep waters,

I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty,

you will not drown.

When you walk through the fire of oppression,

you will not be burned up;

the flames will not consume you.

For I am the Lord, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:1-3

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Over the past few weeks I’ve been reflecting on these two passages of Scripture as I’ve experienced the reality of these great promises of the Lord being fulfilled in my life. Admittedly, while waiting on fulfillment of the promises the temptation was there to imagine more of what could go wrong than what the Lord is doing to make it right.

When faced with adversity we have a tendency to give in to anxious moments of waiting. In my case it would have been waiting for the chemo treatments to start and waiting for the chemo treatment results. Rather than allowing those anxious moments to creep in during the wait, it occurred to me the better strategy would be to look at it this way: The Lord will work it out in a way that will be part of His greater plan for my life.

It’s all about who or what we place our confidence in. When our confidence is in the Lord we need not wonder why or what the Lord is allowing to happen to us or to our work for Him. Either He is in charge or He isn’t . As believers we are confident that He is and that what He allows is always what is ultimately best for us (Romans 8:28).

Admittedly I have realized some of the side effects from the chemo treatments. The treatments definitely have a cumulative effect. Following my most recent treatments, fatigue and very low energy have become familiar “companions.” Sticking with the plan means that I am not likely to see any improvement for the duration of treatments.

As we’ve watched the numbers consistently going down, we have rejoiced at the Lord’s mercy in reversing the course of this cancer. While we realize that we are still dealing with cancer, we continue to trust in the process set in place by our medical team, as they continue to seek the Lord’s guidance in decisions being made on behalf of their patients. I have no doubt that these men and women understand they are ‘the visible hands of healing’ of our Great Physician.

No doubt, our greatest source of comfort and help comes from the Lord as Paul reminds us in his second letter to the Corinthian believers:

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Second to the Lord as our greatest source of comfort and help, Pam and I continue to be tremendously blessed by a support group made up of family, our church family and a network of friends we have come to know over the years. We are constantly reminded of Paul’s words as our support group continues to bring us comfort and encouragement. We have been overwhelmed with the support we have received. This outpouring of support began following Pam’s PSP diagnosis and a couple of accidents leading to her being homebound.

Since my cancer diagnosis not only have we continued to benefit from the comfort and encouragement of our support group; we continue to benefit from practical things like getting us to appointments, staying with Pam on those long days of chemo treatments and other necessary appointments. We are often provided with meals or restaurant gift cards. One friend has been known to show up on more than one occasion, with lawn mower in tow and cut the grass. Hardly a day goes by without at least one card or letter showing up in our mailbox, along with text messages and emails, reminding us that we are loved and being prayed for.

Our family has taken the lead in making sure our needs are being met. Many of the procedures I have undergone require that I have a driver available to get me to and from appointments. For many of those appointments family has been available to take me and for the times that has not been possible they have coordinated with our church family to ensure a driver is available. They have also been available to get Pam to and from her physical therapy appointments.

Family showed up to make sure Pam’s needs were met during my hospital stay in June and again following my July hospitalization. In addition to meeting Pam’s ongoing daily needs they also completed some practical renovations that make it easier for Pam to maneuver her walker around the house. And during my July hospital stay several ladies from our church family were there to take care of Pam.

Not a day goes by without a phone call, an email or text message from family, checking in to see how we’re doing and if we need anything. Family and church family have made themselves available to do our grocery shopping and pharmacy pickups or any number of other necessary errands.

We have been blessed and greatly encouraged by distant family and friends who continually reach out to check on us. Phone calls, text messages and cards remind us that we while we’re out of sight we are certainly not out of mind. Often those phone calls include offers for providing a meal through one of our local restaurants.

While our journey continues the Lord has reminded us through our support group that we are not in this alone.

Granted we don’t know the final outcome of this journey but there can be no doubt that the Lord has been at work from the very beginning. He is the Hero of our story.

Some days are more challenging than others. On the better days I am grateful for the Lord providing strength and energy to be able to do more. More in taking care of Pam. More in just getting out of the house and taking care of some light chores that need to be done.

On the more challenging days the Lord reminds me of His faithfulness. He brings to mind Scripture like Psalm 139, where King David confesses that it is impossible for us to be anywhere that the Lord isn’t already there. He sees us wherever we are.

Yes, cancer and PSP are big issues for us – but our God is bigger. He knows us and He knows our needs. We remain confident and continue to trust in His perfect plans for us because our times are in His hand. (Psalm 31:14-15)