It's Back

My wife's cancer is back.  It's back in the upper part of the lower right lobe.  So what do we do?  We keep on living.  We do not let cancer define us.  We do not live in fear.  For while the cancer is back, God has never left.  Just as He promised, "I will never leave you as orphans" (Jn 14:18), He never has.

When the cancer was first discovered, the prognosis was not good: 26% chance of living 2 years.  We hoped against hope for 5 years, asking God to bless us so.  In May, we celebrate our 5th anniversary.  God is bringing us to the fulfillment of that dream, and I believe more.

The return of the cancer is not welcomed.  As Tandie put it to her doctor, "I'm too busy for this.  This is a very inconvenient time."  She is pursuing a dream of completing a degree in accounting and has been working for UALR tutoring other students.  She has been asked to head up their Ted Talks program.  She has too much on her plate to be served up another dish of cancer.

However, the cancer is on her plate and it must be digested.  But, it does not need to be the whole meal.  She intends to pursue her dream and I intend to support her as she continues to knock her GPA out of the park all the way to her walking across the stage in cap and gown.

Do we know we have that much time?  No, for we "do not know what will happen tomorrow" (Js 4:14).  But we do know that we have today, and while it is today, we intend to serve God, love each other, minister to those in need and enjoy life to the full as God intends (cf. Jn 10:10).

We're not fearless, giants of faith.  We have shed tears and we have concerns but we do trust in God and we want to live in the shadow of the cross, not in the shadow of doubt and fear.  God is with us and we will be OK regardless of what the future has in store.  And, by the way, we don't live in the future, we live today.  And today we are doing well.

So while the cancer is back, it is not in the driver's seat, God is  and He is giving us opportunity to continue living life today and having hope for tomorrow.  We do have to make some adjustments and Tandie will have to get reacquainted with her doctors, but we choose life not death while it is today.  Tomorrow, for all of us is uncertain, but today we know we are living in God's care.  Jus' Say'n.