Ports and prayers...

The port went in perfectly!! Thank you so much for your prayers for this morning. Julie did well to! She started out the day with one big seizure but did great the rest of the day. Praise God!

I wanted to forward along an email my dad sent to his coworkers yesterday (so ignore the details that may be a day out of order). So precious and encouraging!

"Yesterday I fell into my Father’s arms.  Last night and most of today God has been teaching me what my part in the next stage of this battle is.  The spiritual  battle has come easily because God blessed me with unshakable faith and unstoppable joy.  The accuser cannot stand against those.  In a note from a dear sister in Christ, that arrived this morning, she gave me a verse God gave her in her battle with cancer.  Psalm 27:13-14 “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”  When I came home from having the stent put in the first thing I wanted to do was read God’s Speeches to Job, The Book of Job Chapters 38 ,39, 40, and 41.  For some reason I wanted to hear from God in all His majesty.  That is what God does for us when we call out.  Just now while I was on a call I was given the verse from Matthew 19:26 “And looking upon them Jesus said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””.  That is where I am right now.  Like I said earlier God has been teaching me all last night and most of today that my walk in the physical realm has just started and I need to understand that is where the enemy has more dominion than anywhere else.  The accuser even challenged Christ in the physical realm not to mention what he did to Job.  The flesh is truly weak and we can fall into the trap that there is a set way to defeat the enemy in all things physical.  But we cannot, only Christ who strengthens us and God who has all authority can truly defeat the accuser.  As I start on the marathon like Carol wrote below (it is amazing how God will line up thoughts between two believers and send that out as a touch from Him) I know that with His help I will be able to eat when I have no appetite, sleep when the thoughts race through my head at night, drink when water does not quench, get up when my whole body says lethargy is the way we feel, and most importantly listen to God and minister to those around me that are suffering, more than I am in some cases.  The pathway I am being led to follow, due to the excellent Doctors and medical staff, is for Chemotherapy.  The first step is to have a port implanted in my chest Wednesday morning in day surgery at Presbyterian Hospital.  Next I have to be patient and wait for the bilirubin to go down in my system which means my liver has recovered sufficiently to withstand chemo. Needless to say there are lots of prayer opportunities as we move into the physical process.  As always prayers are very much coveted.  In a small victory of sorts, that means a lot to me but very little to my physical preparation, my voice has been restored to a place of strength.  Maybe it was the bilirubin levels or my body just being in physical stress but I have had a weak and ineffective voice for the last two weeks.  That is twice as frustrating to me since I so dearly love to talk and express my views.  On second thought maybe that lack of effect in my voice was some direction for me to consider from God as well.   Anyway I can now speak with clarity and force.

My favorite verse in the Bible is Job 19:25 “And as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.”  As I start my stand on earth, with the help of God and the army of believers supporting me, I pray that I not fall prey to Proverbs 16:25 “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”.  What I mean is that there are no short cuts to the end of this battle in my own strength.  God’s timing is perfect and my response to the challenge ahead needs to be prayerfully directed by Him, not me.  Once again thank you from the bottom of my heart for your concern, your obedience to God and your prayers.  

Thank you, Price              

p.s. I had to postpone sending this so I could complete my “sunning” treatments as ordered by my brother Dr. Robertson (he is a dermatologist).  I know it pained him to recommend sitting in the sun to work on the bilirubin but I am being obedient to his wishes.  I know it is too much information but it is an hilarious sight to see me sitting in the front window with as much exposed skin as possible fighting the bilirubin.  Thankfully the front entry window is so high only the planes landing at DFW would be able to see me."

    

Thank you for your prayers. We can feel them and treasure each one!

Love, 

c