Taking Some Time to Heal
For all our best laid hopes and plans, it’s the things you don’t see coming that have the most profound impact in how life unfolds
Sara and I have a few detours thrown our way over our lifetimes, which has helped us to live feely in the present and not too dismayed when times turn a bit darker. Over the past few weeks, we have been caught in an ever-declining health situation that came on rapidly and will leaves it imprint for some time to come. I know most people don’t read this blog to hear about my health situation, and I don’t want to share all the details hear for the world to read. At the same time, I have a world of friendships and I just can’t keep up with all inquiries more personally.
I woke up on September 14th with severe pain in my back. I have had some back trouble from time to time, so that wasn’t a huge surprise, but as we prayed and sought treatment, the pain only increased to excruciating levels. Nothing seemed to slow it down, not an epidural, targeted injection, or physical. The scans we had didn’t unveil a cause worthy of the pain.
Nearly passing out from pain one day, Sara finally took me to the ER, early last week. During their rigorous tests they found a suspicious lesion on one of my vertebrae in the middle of my back. It was decomposing. The next day, I was on the operating table to remove the vertebrae for a biopsy, rebuild that part of my back and then fuse it to hold together.
The larger issue is what caused the deteriorating vertebrae. The biopsy has indicated multiple myeloma which is which is a cancer in the white blood cells. Fortunately, it is treatable, and the prognosis is good to manage this condition in the future. We’ll begin that today and hope that in the next two to three months we find the right combination of drugs to restrain this disease while my back heals from the very brutal surgery it just has endured.
So, quite quickly we entered a new season of our journey, learning to embrace Jesus’s love, light, and healing in these new challenges. He has been part of all of this from the beginning, leading us by his goodness and putting together the medical team we needed. We have no idea how long this stretch of our journey might demand all of us, whether it will be a few weeks, months, or longer. That’s not in our hands. It could also just go away tomorrow. We are not looking forward any of it, but we’re not afraid of it either. God works some of his special triumphs out of desperate situations.
We managed to return home Wednesday after my eight-day hospital stay. What’s evident now is that this medical battle ahead of us is going to take significant time and energy. It takes almost all we have each day just to get work though my treatment demands and navigate the pain. Recovery has already been arduous with pain and complications. Who’s to say what the next days and weeks will contain?
It is obvious now that this medical need is going to take almost all our time, energy, and resource for the foreseeable future. Thus, I’m going to be taking a leave of absence from writing, email, and podcasting as I give my full attention to what my body needs. We’ve tossed all our plans into the wind and we trust that God will show us the way forward.
How are our hearts through all of these? They’re great, well-covered by Jesus and his love for us. We are both so glad we have each other to lean on at a time like this. Our faith in the Lord stands resolute, confident that in his ability to work good out of tragic circumstances, and that pain is only another lens to see his beauty in the word.
We appreciate your prayers, concerns, and friendship. We will also appreciate your patience as we need to expend our resources closer to home these days. I know most people don’t read this blog for updates on our personal needs, but it is also true that Sara and I have a family that covers the whole world. So, we will provide some updates here in general terms. Our internet/messaging load is already greater than we can keep up with.
We are taking this one day at a time. We could wake up tomorrow completely healed and that may allow us to get back to those things God has asked of us. Or, that my happen over a few months. At this point and we are making no assumptions. We wake up each morning seeing what he has before us and what we need to do that day to deal with our circumstances and still find ways to put his love in the world. Sara has been a rock through this season in caring for me as well as sorting through all the medical information. She will need continued strength, rest, and joy to hold her. Please pray for her.
In the end, nothing has changed. Every day, every breath is in his hands, no more today than it was before all this began. We are confident that he has a way through this and that we will be here to accomplish his purpose for us in the earth. So, I guess we’re on a new journey together not just Sara and me but the Lifestream and God Journey families. So, buckle up. Let’s see how God glorifies himself here and anticipate with gratitude his power to do all things well.