Oh, dear friends. I am so sad tonight. I’m trying really hard not to worry. Not to fret. Not to be anxious. I’m trying to remember:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)
Grandmother Nancy, who was here to visit us just before Christmas, has just found out that she has breast cancer. This is a brand-new diagnosis, so we don’t know much just yet. She’ll be meeting with her surgeon at the beginning of the week, and they’ll schedule her surgery at that point (probably for the middle of next week).
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid… for the LORD thy God, he [it is] that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
It’s hard to hear that someone you love is sick. It’s really hard, when another person you love has already battled cancer -even if it’s a different type. My heart is heavy tonight. I feel the ache of every mile that separates us, and I wish SO BADLY that I could be there.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2)
I know that our God is strong, and mighty to save. I believe that He is our Great Physician, and I believe that he knows – and feels – the pain of everyone in our family. I know that He can, and will, bring peace and serenity to our hearts. I know that, even more importantly, He will give Nancy a peace that passes our human understanding – He will let her feel the width and depth and height of the fullness of His love for her – for all of us.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17b-19)
Please keep us in your prayers: Nancy, and her husband Ron; her daughter Donna (Jonas’ “Nonna”) and son-in-law Karl; grandkids (and grandkids-in-law) Missy, Manuel, Chris, Michelle, Laura, Scott, and Andrea; and her great-grandsons Jonas and Ethan.