I am beginning to understand that fighting cancer is more like a marathon rather than a sprint... Dad went to the oncologist yesterday and they want to get him started on chemotherapy as soon as possible. He is getting a port tomorrow at 5:30 am. They can't start chemo, however, until his bilirubin count goes down so that his liver can handle the chemo. Bilirubin makes you yellow when you have jaundice (or the "Mellow Yellow" as Dad calls it...). I am learning so much about the body through this process! Right now he is scheduled to officially start chemo October 29th. He will have a blood test next Monday the 15th to see how is count is doing. Please join me in praying his bilirubin count decreases swiftly so that he can start chemo asap.
Also, Dad has no appetite. Please pray that he would be able to eat well in this waiting time so that he can store up some reserves for his chemo process. He has already lost a lot of weight, it would be good if he didn't lose anymore!
God gave us such an amazing weekend together as a family! Thank you for your prayers for that. We have TONS of little "love letters" from God to share with you! I could seriously go on for a while about all of them as my sweet roommates can attest. But I will only share three for the sake of brevity.
First, my dad's team from work sent over a catered meal that could have fed an army! It was so generous and kind of them to care for our family in ways we didn't even know would be a blessing! We were able to eat off of it all weekend and even freeze some for future gatherings. It felt a lot like Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes, but with BBQ.
Second, we are getting so many encouraging emails, calls, texts, and visits! Each one of them is so precious to us! I can tell that all the emails encourage Dad so much by the way he keeps calling us all over to read a new one every five minutes. Very precious. Also, some of my parents good friends came over on Saturday. It was such a blessing to just be with people who know and love you well and share stories. Sunday we met with a dear friend who was led to come over and pray for Dad's physical healing. It was a sweet time of prayer asking God to do great things all the while being comforted by His presence. I will cherish that prayer time as a family for a long time. Dad says that these are ways that "God crosses our path with comfort and love". I couldn't agree more!
Lastly, we got to take a break as a family and listen to a powerful sermon by Tim Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC. It is called Praying Your Tears and is based on Psalm 126:5-6. I highly recommend downloading it! Such an encouragement on how to bring our tearful requests to God. And it seems like there have been a lot of those lately! Such a timely message.
I have to leave this email with a sweet reflection that Dad wrote yesterday. I love the way the Lord is speaking to my father in such a powerful way. I am so blessed to have a earthly father who seeks God's face so wholly.
"One thought for the day which God gave me last night: Sometimes when I am sitting on the floor with Julie she will throw herself back into my arms with total confidence that I will embrace her. She gives absolutely no warning that she is going to do that. She immediately melts into my arms and is wrapped in love. I always have to be ready for it without knowing when it might happen. God was showing me last night that He wants me to do the same thing. So I am throwing myself into His loving arms in total abandon, trusting that He will wrap me in His loving arms."
Praise God for His continual embrace! Psalm 17:6-8.
-C
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