There are some words you never tire of hearing:
“I love you. I forgive you. Be my friend.”
There are others that are less inviting to hear:
“You have Leukemia.”
And after 27 days of treatment… “You STILL have Leukemia.”
We learned yesterday that there were more “blasts,” though only 10% compared to my original 96%. And so in the last 24 hours we have been contemplating two possible scenarios: 1) all is well (blasts might be normal); go home today or 2) the Leukemia is more resistive than anticipated and we basically start over with another 7 day round of chemo and another month hospital stay. It has been a day and night of pursuing faith in the midst of honest questions and human emotions.
Today’s news: The Leukemia remains.
But before anyone responds with, “How terrible,” we were instantly reminded that another month stay here means more opportunity to grow relationships here at the hospital, and that wherever God places you is a good place to be. My devotion for today is from Colossians 1:10-13 (summarized):
Live a live worthy of the Lord.
Bear fruit. Grow. Be strengthened. Have great endurance and patience.
Joyfully give thanks.
With the opportunity to continue to grow relationships here, I was not surprised to wake up this morning with this song on my mind, Mighty To Save…Let the words speak deeply to you today as they do to me:
V1
Everyone needs compassion, love that’s never failing, let mercy fall on me.
Everyone needs forgiveness, the kindness of a Savior, the Hope of nations.
CHORUS:
Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save.
Forever, author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave.
V2
So take me as you find me, All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.
I give my life to follow, Everything I believe in,
So I surrender.
(Repeat chorus)
Chorus 2:
SHINE YOUR LIGHT and let the whole world see,
We’re singing to the glory of the risen King!
(Repeat chorus 1)
If the doctors ever suggest a bone marrow transplant, let me know.
We should find out more about the possibility of a bone marrow transplant after I finish round two of chemo and visit the U of I hospital…now pushed back til February. Welcome to the blog, Serena.
Bryan and Marcia – our prayers are with you as you wait God’s perfect healing. May you be a great witness where He has placed you right now. When His work for you is finished there, he will move you on to the next opportunity to serve. So thankful we are for a God who has our best interest in His plan, walks with us wherever he takes us, and always has his ear tuned to our voice. May He continue to guide you and give you peace and healing. Our love and prayers, Dennis & Carol Koon
Carol, I believe you have your thumb on God’s heartbeat for our circumstances. They often are not about us. They are about learning to connect with our great God and with others in ways that transcend the temporary discomfort and inconvenience.
Hello sir. I am in a fb group with your daughter in law. She loves you so very much. We have all been praying for you. Bless you for your wonderful attitude. You are an inspiration. Get well soon!
Welcome to Go Light Your world, Cristel. The truth is that Jesus is our inspiration and power. The secret is in Col. 1:27. Blessings. Bryan
En mis oraciones estan siempre presente.. Yo creo firmemente que mi Dios es un Dios de poder para el no hay nada imposible, yo he vivido en carne propia su gran amor para conmigo y con mi familia, algun dia tendre la oportunidad de contarles las maravillas y de la forma tan sorprendente que Dios a sanado a los dos seres mas preciados que tengo. “mis hijos ( jeremy y melany).. Desde entonces nunca me he apartado De Dios por que se que sin el no somos nada… Por eso creo de igual manera que el es unico que puede traer sanidad conpleta sobre usted.. Yo me uno a sus peticiones.. Que Dios me los Bendiga….
Gracias Estela. Estamos de acuerdo contiguous. A veces Dios les trabaje aunque doctores y medicamentos, pero Jesucristo es nuestro Curador. Él solamente tiene poder. Queremos saber cómo Dios sanó tus hijos. Puedes contarnos la historia en inglés o en español, en palabras simples y con despacio. 🙂
Gracias por tus oraciones para mi y para Marcia. Es un regalo MUY precioso.
Bendiciones en el Señor.
Bryan y Marcia
Vayas y ilumine tu mundo!
Honey the words to the hymn are powerful, and we trust our mighty God to care for you. Know how greatly you are loved.
Efesios 2:10 – “Porque somos hechura suya, creados en Cristo Jesús para buenas obras, las cuales Dios preparó de antemano para que anduviésemos en ellas”. Tu propósito, Bryan, es hacer la voluntad de Dios donde Él te ponga. Confiar aún con tu vida. Que donde estés, seas la luz de Jesús en el mundo.
Los amamos, Bryan y Marcia. Realmente los amamos mucho.
Thank you angel Julia for sharing these truths which we continue to seek to become increasingly evident in our lives. We thank God for cementing our friendship before we even met.
Bendiciones con amor de Jesucristo, Bryan y Marcia
Bryan and Marcia,
Dave also faced many days (months) in the hospital too. He had 65% abnormal blasts and was not producing enough red blood cells and platelets. Like him, his cells were very stubborn and even after 2 bone marrow transplants from his brother Jon, he was still the same. That you have made progress from 96% down to 10% is nothing short of miraculous, but your decision to have another round of chemo to eradicate resistant cells is probably the best. Your mission work while in the hospital is also commendable. I wish nothing but the best for you. Keep in mind that God puts us where we need to be for our greatest learning and His greatest glory. You guys are awesome! Love you always…… Jan Ward
Dear Jan, thank you for your insight and encouragement. I am reminded daily at how blessed I am and how immensely merciful God is to us in this present Leukemia. I am so sorry for not being more attentive to you and Dave when you were facing such struggle years ago. This has spurred me on to be more sensitive to God’s calling now. But even still, our job is simply to be faithful, available, and teachable. We depend on Jesus to do the rest. Thank you for your friendship over all these (we won’t say how many) years! We love you. – bryan and marcia