On the Other Side

Our summer has been pleasantly busy, sometimes even hectic.  We’ve had some more wonderful extra helpers that helped keep the pool clean, the water comfortable, and have helped keep the children entertained and safe in the water.  Thank God for them!! At the beginning of summer, I felt like filling the pool with dirt and planting a garden.  Because of these wonderful people, the kids have been able to enjoy a clean, safe summer in the pool.  They all love it!  

I wrote this sometime back, but haven’t posted it. 

“Recently I blogged about hard places, twice actually, so I want to pay homage to the other side.  I want to declare that God is faithful to see us through to the other side of hard places.  I am sure that I have not seen the last hard place, but I am here to say that “God is faithful to complete that which we commit to Him until that day.”

I have really struggled for months with feeling incredibly tired all the time.  Every time I walked by the couch, it reached out and snatched me!  I lost about 35-40 lbs.  I was really concerned that something was really wrong with me! The doctor did some blood work and discovered my thyroid was low.  They put me on medication but nothing changed.  I had  an appt. with an endocrinologist in Mar.   I went to my radiation doctor this week.  He is elated that I have done so well!  He certainly did not expect to see me in this condition now.  I told him that I give God the glory for using competent doctors with gifts that He gave them, to heal my body.  He enthusiastically agreed!  I have said the same thing to my chemo doctor who also agreed with me, but not so enthusiastically.

I have felt so much better recently  that I believe I am truly being healed!!  I have a wonderful friend at church who has prayed for and with me since early on.  She wrote a note that God impressed upon her:  “as if it has never been there.  Don’t know how, don’t know when, but as if it’s never been.”  I believe her prophecy is being fulfilled, PRAISE GOD!   Thanks to ALL of you who have been so faithful to pray for me and encourage me. I was able to keep 3 of my grandchildren at the same time overnight  several times this summer.  I have not been able to do that since my chemo.  Those of you who are grandparents know that there is no greater pleasure than to see them all together laughing & playing during the day, and then see their angelic faces asleep on their pillows at night.  I read somewhere that a little boy was asked about his grandparents.  He said “they were grown-ups who have lots of time to listen to you.”  I pray that God has made me a good listener.

I thank God for His peace in my life.  Jn. 14:27.  When I first received the news that I had a brain tumor, I was shocked.  I have been in perfect health all my life. I never had any serious illness, no major surgeries.  I have always done anything I wanted or needed to do.  I did not know how to be a patient!  I believe God needed to get my attention and slow me down long enough to teach me some things.  I may never know why it happened, but I pray that I have not been a slothful student.”

Gordon is still not doing very well.  He has so much pain that he can hardly walk some days.  He is being treated at  a pain clinic but nothing seems to help very much. They want to do another surgery, but there  is no guarantee that things will be better.  Some days we are both pitiful! I don’t know how much more he can tolerate.  He’s taking more medicine than he needs to, but not as much as the doctor prescribes.  Please pray for him.  I will post an update.

My brother Bill is having the same kinds of problems.  He is scheduled for a procedure that will burn his nerve endings next week.  Please pray for him that this will work.  He has spent much of his life in intensive pain and he NEEDS some relief.

My Mom is still trucking right along.  She had a problem with one of her eyes that has impaired her ability to drive, so we are “driving Mrs. Gracie”, much to her chagrin. She has accepted this gracefully as she has most things in her life, but is SO AFRAID she will inconvenience someone.  We are so thankful we have the privilege of caring for her!

Gordon’s Mom is still doing fairly well.  She is still not satisfied with the facility where she is.  She wants to go back home, but doesn’t understand that there is no way that she can. She just cannot understand that she is there because we cannot take care of her. She is very alert, but has a lot of difficulty with short term memory.  Look who’s talking.J

It is good to hear from those of you who have sent messages to my blog.  We continue to covet your prayers, and thank all of you who have prayed in our behalf.