Enduring Hope

Finally made it home Tuesday. The doctors have me on oral antibiotics for 10 days and wound care 2 x day. MD Anderson has now rescheduled my lymph node surgery until November 2nd to give the infection and wound enough time to heal from the surgery last Friday. I'll go out November 1st to see Dr. Ross, have an anesthesia consult and blood work and surgery the next morning. I understand the typical thing after this surgery is to stay in the hospital about 3 days and probably another night or two in Houston before coming home. I've been told that I'll be off work 4 weeks afterwards, and I'll start the interferon treatments three weeks after the surgery when I meet with the medical oncologist.

Please pray with me that the cancer is already gone... that this surgery is only a formality on the protocol for stage III melanoma. Pray that every cancer cell is gone and never comes back. A wonderful friend reminded me yesterday: Just as quickly as the cells appear, they can disappear. What seems like a miracle to us is something as simple as breathing to our Heavenly Father, Great Physician.

As the days get long here at home waiting on the next step, it is easy to let my mind wander and become overwhelmed with the weight of the situation. I was reading in Romans this morning: "The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace." (verse 6). How true - we MUST guard our minds and keep focused on the Holy Spirit in order to keep fear at bay and remember peace. There seems to be a theme in Romans chapters 5 and 8. Finding hope through hard times.

"our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18
"...boast in hope of the glory of God...and also know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4

Both passages point out that hope is found through suffering and trials... that we can only truly find hope when we experience trials or hard times. Now how we "rejoice" during the hard times, that's a different story, right?  In those passages, we are told not only to rejoice but to "triumph". Right. This really sounds sick or bizarre to the world - it doesn't make sense at all. As believers in Christ, we can rejoice ONLY because we know the outcome is HOPE.

After all, isn't hope itself the essence of Christianity? The Greek word used throughout the New Testament for hope literally translates a "strong and confident expectation". A certainty. Isn't it easier to believe that?  Once we truly understand and find hope, we can truly believe.

I guess in a way, going through "something hard" makes us tougher Christians. I am in the "movement" profession - physical therapy... we're in the business of helping make people stronger, better able to endure through life's activities.  In a nutshell, we know the only way to make bones stronger is to stress them. The only way to make muscles and tissues stronger is to stress them. The only way to have better balance is to stress the current system. hmm. What a parallel.

As an athlete (an aging one at that!), the Bible verses about perseverance and running the race and finishing strong have always spoken to me. And it has recently occurred to me why God used running as his sport of analogy rather than something like, oh, football, baseball, basketball, or even tennis. Running is about finishing, not necessarily winning (although the feeling of passing someone down the stretch does give a little rush!). In all other sports, we can play, even finish, but still not win... in a race (more like the marathon kind), to finish IS to win.

Abraham knew this, or learned this. Back when mom was going through her treatment over 7 years ago (stop: praise God!!!), Romans chapter 4 was a passage I read every single day. The whole chapter. I read that chapter on the plane to Houston last Thursday and repeated this verse over and over lying in the MRI and CT machines:
"...yet he did not waver in unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He has promised." Romans 4:20-21

Hope. The way we endure.