Grace Is Not A Cliche

March 16, 2015

A lot of time has passed since I last wrote on this blog. So much has changed and although months have passed it STILL seems like a dream that won't end. I keep hoping to find a turn off for this road but there isn't one in sight. 

Weekly infusions have become monthly now. All the blood tests have been good. Larry's weight and appetite remain healthy. Larry will have another infusion and then a PET/CT scan at the end of this month. At this time his neck has not continued to get smaller, rather it has gotten larger though not larger than at first. It is our prayer that a change in medication or frequency of dosage will be the answer.

He is concerned about this of course but he continues to keep himself busy with work and playing in a winter horseshoe league which is nearly done now.

As for me I'm hanging in there, just doing the next thing that has to be accomplished. I do admit at times I need to have my heart and mind refocused as we are in the middle of this journey. I call it muddling through the middle. We both need to be reminded to where to keep our eyes and our faith anchored when the bills come or the insurance denial letters arrive in the mail. God is so much bigger than we can imagine or think and it helps to remind ourselves of this. 

We couldn't get too far along this bumpy road without the constant encouragement of our family and friends who on a weekly basis remind us that they continue to pray for us. In fact I received an email that had been delayed in the forwarding until today that confirms the things I'm writing and the video I chose to emphasize my thoughts. I know the time will come and we will look back as ask ourselves how did we ever do that?

Well the answer to that is of course by the grace of God. That can sound like a cliche after a while, but it's the reality. If we think we can go a minute without the grace of God we are sadly misguided or moreover delusional. So many places in Scripture one can find where the 'heroes of the faith' found themselves at the end of their rope. What kept them so that they were listed in Hebrews 11? God's grace helping them to cling to His holy word and character; refusing to believe He would leave or forsake them.

One time I looked up the word, dismay in the dictionary. It means to be astounded, discouraged or to look anxiously around you. I immediately thought of  a lost child tearfully looking for his family in a crowded public place. Though we at times feel lost in crowded and unsettling circumstances of this life, like any parent God is looking out for us. And though we can't always see or feel Him He has not lost sight of us.