Sep. 8, 2007
Pray for Mark
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Sometimes it is so hard to understand how we can be so blessed and still suffer. My sister-in-law, who diligently prays for the salvation of her household, in particular her husband and grown daughter, has been abundantly blessed through the years in so many ways. She has a family that adores her, a faithful husband, and, most importantly, an intimate relationship with our Lord. She does not lack for anything that is necessary in life. She lives in the small home in which her husband was born and drives a used car instead of buying a new one. She is a very good steward of all that God has entrusted her with. In fact, I envy her frugality. Even so life has become one trial after another for my wonderful sister-in-law. Her husband had to retire from the railroad about a year ago because of a bad back from the years of abuse doing hard manual labor. He had to go on disability, which strained the budget until a settlement could be reached with the railroad. He had to have surgery on his back, which was very painful. Through all of this, Candi, continued to be diligent in praying for not just his physical healing, but his acceptance of Christ. She also became more frugal. After recovering from the surgery, he continued to have pain in his back and then began to lose weight for no apparent reason. The reason became clear after visiting with the doctors earlier this year. He was diagnosed with stomach and esophageal cancer. The cancer had affected a large portion of his stomach and most of his esophagus. It was determined to be a very bad form of cancer that does not have a very good prognosis usually. Treatments had to be decided on and begun. It was decided that he would undergo chemo and radiation first before surgery. If the chemo and radiation did not at least stagnate the growth of the cancer, then there would be no surgery. Through all of this, she continued to pray for his salvation and healing, and counted every day a blessing from God. God honored her prayer by ensuring that he remained healthy during the time that his immune system was depressed because of the chemo and radiation. They were even blessed by being able to take some fishing trips after he was finished with treatments and waiting for his body to recuperate and be ready for the next step. Things were beginning to look up for them as the chemo and radiation were successful in accomplishing what the doctors wanted. Surgery was scheduled. The evening before the surgery, he was in his room in the Mayo clinic. They were anticipating a successful, but complicated surgery to remove a large portion of the stomach and most of the esophagus, and then reattach what remained of the stomach to what remained of the esophagus. They were looking forward to the time when he could be cancer-free and they could get back to a normal life. That night he had a seizure. They immediately canceled the surgery and began to do tests to determine the cause of the seizure. He had two brain tumors, a large one and a small one. Chemo was not an option for the brain tumors and neither was surgery. They also determined that surgery was no longer an option for the stomach and esophagus either. Whole brain radiation was the only option. The decision was made! Even though the risks of whole brain radiation were great, the option of none was worse. Still she diligently prayed and counted every day an even greater gift than before. He went through the treatment. Not only did the treatment rid his brain of the small tumor and almost completely rid him of the large tumor, there was no active tumor in the stomach or esophagus and no damage to the brain from the treatment. We praised our Great God for this gift. This was just on Tuesday. Candi prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. Then came Wednesday. A CAT scan was done. Now the cancer had spread to his liver and some lymph nodes, I think, in the stomach. It has not been determined what, if any, treatment will be continued at this time. She still prays. How can we be so blessed in so many ways and still suffer like this? The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Pray he doesn't steal the most important thing Candi has at this time, God's peace and joy. God never promised us an easy time. He never promised us a life with no hardship or sorrow. He did promise us eternal life in Christ Jesus. That is the promise on which we stand. That is the hope we have for Candi's family. Please pray for my sister-in-law and her family as they deal with this terrible cancer that no one should ever have to deal with. Pray for the healing hand of our Lord to be upon Mark's body. Pray every action, every word, every thought be Christ inspired and a testament to the goodness of God. Through it all may He be glorified and lifted up. |
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Oct. 2, 2007 - Untitled Comment
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