A Magnolia's Heart Beats

And Still We Praise Him

Each time I say it, it becomes more real. My husband was diagnosed with kidney cancer on January 22, 2010. He is in Stage 2 and will have surgery on February 17, 2010. Wow. It became even more real. Dr. Daily is hoping to remove only the tumor and part of his kidney but told us that having to remove the whole kidney is a possibility, a strong one. The good news is that you can live with just one kidney. The great news is there will be no chemotherapy or radiation as the tumor is contained. The awesome news is that the survival rate is in the high 90%'s.

Of course we are concerned about the surgery, the possibility of removing the whole kidney, the recovery, etc.

And still we praise Him.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." ~ Romans 8:28 (NIV)

While we don't rejoice because of our sufferings, we can rejoice in the midst of them. How? Through faith. We know that faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Why? Our faith is in God! God is the ultimate Victor!

We are reminding ourselves to never forget to praise Him in the storms of life.

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." ~ Psalm 42:11 (NIV)

We also are reminding ourselves to come before Him constantly in prayer.

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." ~ Colossians 4:2 (NIV)

The Greek word for devote is proskartereō. This verb means:

1) to adhere to one, be his adherent, to be devoted or constant to one
2) to be steadfastly attentive unto, to give unremitting care to a thing
3) to continue all the time in a place
4) to persevere and not to faint
5) to show one's self courageous for
6) to be in constant readiness for one, wait on constantly

This is where we are right now. We are perservering and continuing steadfastly to pray about this situation. Quite frankly, it's the only thing keeping me going. I'm nervous about it but I feel a peace when I pray that is like a healing balm. I know the Lord has not forgotten Steve and holds Him in the palm of His hand. We know that we must remain courageous as an example to other believers and to show our faith to the One who can heal.

The Greek word for watchful is grēgoreō. This verb means:

1) to watch
2) metaph. give strict attention to, be cautious, active
a) to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one

Oh, be sure we are watching for what the Lord will do through this trial. We are not going to waiver and fall asleep on the job, as far as recognizing His blessings and mercy.

The Greek word for thankful is eucharistia. This noun means:

1) thankfulness
2) the giving of thanks

We are already thankful for the good news that has followed. Things could definitely be worse, and we thank God daily that they aren't.

And still we praise Him.

Will you join me in prayer and praise for what we are dealing with? Cancer is a scary thing and we need our friends and family to join in prayer regarding the outcome of this, that it's as good as the news we've heard so far, that the surgery goes well, that the recovery is speedy and easy.

Thank you,