A Great Visit to JMU
When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. ~ Psalm 94:19
After last week's whirlwind, the Lord gave us a merciful 24 hours in Virginia at one of our happiest places—James Madison University—where we, in large part, were able to forget about cancer for a short time. The cares of our hearts have indeed been many, but the Lord's many consolations along the way have cheered our souls at just the right times. This trip to JMU was timed perfectly.
We spent the night with dear friends Bob and Beth, which was a great gift and reminder of the Lord's consolation to us over the years. These friends walked with us through other hard seasons of life when we lived in Harrisonburg years ago, and just being with them brought comfort and joy. Our visit, though brief, was sweet.
On Saturday, we hit the campus and walked nine miles, sitting through the usual "choose us" spiel. The day started out cloudy, but by afternoon, it was sunshiny and warm! While Maddie won't be able to choose colleges until FAFSA stuff finally makes it to the various financial aid offices, we felt like we saw and heard enough to know JMU would be a fantastic choice for Maddie (as if we ever doubted!).
This trip overall was one considerable praise as we had an absolutely wonderful time together as a family. Thank you to the many who said they were praying that way.
Prayer:
Would you pray for Maddie? In two short weeks, she went from the excitement of finishing her Senior year and the stress of choosing a college to having the dark cloud of cancer move into her world. She handles it with grace and faith, but the weight is heavy.
This week holds second opinions at Penn with the surgeon tomorrow and the oncologist on Tuesday. We are nervous to hear how they would evaluate the plan of treatment from Jefferson. Would you pray that whatever is said in these times, the best plan of treatment would be clear and one that would both yield complete eradication of the cancer AND protect Sarah's body?
Sarah has a cardiologist visit to make sure her heart can handle the chemo, and we HOPE to get Sarah's first chemo scheduled. Would you please pray these go smoothly?
Finally, I shared in the sermon today that a prayer of mine has been that the Lord would build His kingdom in us and through us during this challenging season. As John Piper writes, we don't want to waste our cancer but rather prayerfully wish to see the Lord use it to have others see Christ through all of this. Would you please pray that would be the case?
Thank you!
Anthony