August 28, 2011
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you." John 12:27
"There are times when our peace is based upon ignorance, but when we awaken to the facts of life, inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When Our Lord speaks peace, He makes peace, His words are ever "spirit and life." Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? "My peace I give unto you"-it is peace which comes from looking in His face and realizing His undisturbedness.
Are you painfully disturbed just now, distracted by the waves and billows of God's providential permission, and having, as it were, turned over the boulders of your belief, are you still finding no well of peace or joy or comfort; is all barren? Then look up and receive the undisturbedness of the Lord Jesus. Reflected peace is the proof that you are right with God because you are at liberty to turn your mind to Him...Are you looking unto Jesus now, in the immediate matter that is pressing and receiving from Him peace? If so, He will be a glorious benediction of peace in and through you. But if you try to worry it out, you obliterate Him and deserve all you get. We get disturbed because we have not been considering Him. When one confers with Jesus Christ, the perplexity goes, because He has no perplexity, and our only concern is to abide in Him. Lay it all out before Him, and in the face of difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, hear Him say, "Let not your heart be troubled." Oswald Chambers
This was my devotion for August 26. I wrestled with the facts facing me that day and the truths of what it had to say about peace and then I rested and prepared to meet with my oncologist that afternoon.
The doctor's words to me as he came in to discuss my situation were, "What kind of chill pill are you on?!" Reflected peace from Jesus!
This is only one of many times the Lord has given me to bring glory to His name and to what He is doing in my life. I wish I could say that this peace is mine every minute of the day, but it is a struggle and I appreciate your continued and needed prayers more than you know.
In light of the fact that Dr. Rippon was not able to get "clear margins" (get all of the cancer) in the tissue and the skin, and because it was in the lymphatic’s system to some degree, there is a possibility that the cancer cells have traveled other places in my body. According to the PET scan, no large areas of accumulation have been found, which is a blessing. But there is no test to measure small traces spread out over large areas. So we have to aggressively treat this cancer. I will get a port installed on Friday, Sept. 2 and most likely begin chemotherapy on Sept. 7. Dr. Gococo is still deciding on which chemo meds to use, but they will “pack a punch” and be as hard as he can hit me without doing damage in other places. I will most likely try to start back to work the following Monday, Sept. 12 and work in between rounds of chemo like I did in 2009.
I have a few days this week to continue to heal from surgery, get Anna ready for the HPCS Jr. High trip to the Wilds Camp, get some things at school taken care of, and prepare for chemo.
Please pray for my body to be strong and my spirit to remain steadfast.
Shannon,
ReplyDeleteI have thought about you and prayed for you so many times over these past weeks and am glad for the chance to tell you that! The card you sent me at the very beginning of my breast cancer journey was such an encouragement to me and I trust that my assurance of prayers will be to you as well. There is certainly an understanding and instant bond between those of us who are facing similar circumstances, made all the sweeter by the fact that we both know we face them in the presence and care of One who loves us most of all! I am on day 5 following my first chemo and learning how to anticipate and handle what it does to me. I was especially interested to hear that Dr. DeBrux is your plastic surgeon. We are still praying about the whole reconstruction thing, but if we go ahead with it, he will also be my surgeon. We were very impressed with him during our initial consult. I will be praying for you in the coming weeks as you prepare to start your treatments! God is good!
Alison Stephens