🕯Vigilant in Prayer

"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” ~Colossians 4:2, I Corinthians 5:4, Matthew 18:20

Frequent conversations with my Heavenly Father have been my lifeline in these days of uncertainty. As difficult as it was to hear that the original chemo was ineffective in destroying the cancer, I knew God would not leave me to figure this out on my own. In my helplessness, I cried out for an answer. After several days of waiting on Him through delays, a different chemo drug was initiated. But this strategy only left me more unsettled as it resulted in two failed attempts due to severe reactions. One more week went by before returning to Mayo and during this time I prepared myself for the end.
At the consultation, Megan, my nurse practitioner, proposed I try the chemo drug one more time, confirming there was no other alternative available. Envisioning my future state, I emphasized once again that I was ready to die if God wanted to take me home. She, then, took my hands, held them and looked me straight in the eye. In a stern but loving voice she replied, "Cindy, I need you to go into this chemo with a mindset to want to live. You are not dying now, you are alive." Oh, how I needed to hear this truth. I was alive. I was breathing air. I was able to move about and I could, by God's power, attempt to retry the chemo drug. It was then that I realized I had been asking God for dying grace, when in reality He was offering me living grace. What I truly needed was grace to live in the present moment in order to accomplish the duties set before me in the here and now.
As Glen and I sat in the waiting room before chemo, we prayed for God to give me strength and courage for whatever lies ahead. I also texted several friends asking them to pray with me for God's will to be done.
A short time later, the chemo drug dripped slowly into my veins. My faith was stretched as I felt a reaction coming on with chest tightness. I wondered how long I should try to hold out or would the pain worsen until I could no longer tolerate it. But then, something amazing happened. God started moving in ways contrary to how I felt. Within a few minutes, the pain subsided and my body accepted the new treatment. After the cycle completed, Megan came to see me and gave me a "high five." 🙌🏽 She was thrilled to see God's touch upon my life.

Friends, my Heavenly Father really does have my fragile life in His control. He watches over me. He hears my prayers. He knows when I am in trouble and He promises that His grace will be enough to carry me through each day.

Thank YOU for getting specific with God and making these requests known to Him believing with all your heart that He will show us the path of life. (Psalm 16:11)

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." ~Jeremiah 33:3

Words of Hope

In seasons of distress and grief
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter's snare
By thy return, to sweet hour of prayer.
-William W. Waldord

This hard place in which you perhaps find yourself is the very place in which God is giving you opportunity to look only to Him, to spend time in prayer, and to learn long-suffering, gentleness, meekness - in short, to learn the depths of the love that Christ Himself has poured out on all of us.-Elisabeth Elliot