Chevy’s Path to Complete Healing

These verses encouraged my pastor Lon Solomon and his wife 17 years ago when God gave them a child with a seizure disorder and is still severely mentally retarded.  May it be a great source of comfort to us all, especially to you, Achie.

Israel's Only Savior

 ² When you pass through the waters,
       I will be with you;
       and when you pass through the rivers,
       they will not sweep over you.
       When you walk through the fire,
       you will not be burned;
       the flames will not set you ablaze.

 ³ For I am the LORD, your God,
       the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
       I give Egypt for your ransom,
       Cush ^[a] and Seba in your stead.

 ⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
       and because I love you,
       I will give men in exchange for you,
       and people in exchange for your life.

I've been lax with my devotion this week.  Does this have any connection with my missing Erbitux yesterday?  Is God teaching me a lesson here?  That I shouldn't be complacent because He ain't finished with me yet?  That I should put Him first before tv and computer? 

I don't know if any of you share the same, but I sometimes feel guilty if I wasn't able to do my devotion.  If I applied my "mamaya na" habit - Mamaya na lang after I do this and that, before I know it, it's Betty La Fea and Tayong Dalawa time  ( I wish my tv has a PIP feature, so I can also watch Hinugot sa Tadyang).  It's not obvious that I'm a slave to this telenobelas, huh?    I sometimes try to read during commercial breaks,  and before any of you condemn me, there are also nights when I choose to have my devotion instead of watching tv.   My usual routine, which I think is the most effective and what most people do, is I have my devotion in the mornings before doing anything else. 

Today's devotion from Streams in the Desert says ... it's a good thing to rejoice in the Lord.  No matter the circumstance, even when you cannot feel any joy.  What struck me most is this - "whenever you face trials of many kind (james 1:2) regard it as a joy, delight in it, and God will reward your faith". 

When I have doubts and fear in my heart about this  illness of mine, I will remember what L.B. Cowman said - "Do you believe that your heavenly Father will let you carry the banner of His victory and joy to the very front of thye battle, only to calmly withdraw to see you captured or beaten back by the enemy?  NEVER!  His Holy Spirit will sustain you in your bold advance and fill your heart with gladness and praise.  You will find that your heart is exhilarated and refreshed by the fullness within."

This poem is from the same book.

Chance has not brought this ill to me;     It's  God's own hand, so let it be,     For He sees what I cannot see.     There is a purpose for each pain,    And He one day will make it plain,     That earthly loss is heavenly gain.    Like as a piece of tapestry       Viewed from the back appears to be      Only threads tangled hopelessly;     But in rthe front a picture fair     Rewards the worker for his care,    Proving his skill and patience rare.    You are the Workman, I the frame.    Lord, for the glory of Your Name,    Perfect Your image on the same.           

Thank you all for your prayers.  Please continue to pray  with me as I pray for God to totally heal me of this affliction.  

Chevy missed her Erbitux treatment last Friday because her neutrophil count was too low.  She was then put on prophylactic antibiotics.  She gets her sixth chemotherapy (and hopefully the last ever!) this coming Friday.  She is as physically well as she can be as I write, but some concerns about the upcoming PET scan are starting to creep up.  (The PET scan will be done sometime in April, if I am not mistaken.)  Please pray for inner peace and strength.  I know that the Lord does not give us anything we can not handle, and that whatever He does give us, He also provides the way out (1 Corinthians 10:13, verse on temptation that I also adapt for any sort of trial). 

Chevy continues to be in my heart and mind constantly.  This morning, while worshiping in church, this verse flashed on the screen.  I have made it my prayer for Chevy.

Ephesians 3:17b-19

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Achie is doing great, by God's grace.  She finally went to Spiral for breakfast with Mama and Ahia.  The Lord's grace is indeed sufficient for her...and for all of us.  This morning, this song by Integrity comes to mind...

   

• all of the above
• that I was able to spend several weeks with family in Manila
• that David and I were able to spend Christmas in Manila (the first for me in six years)
• that we have an ever caring mother who gives selflessly
• answered prayer (I believe) as far as Chevy's treatment plan
• the friends and family that the Lord has placed in Chevy's life

• uneventful last chemotherapy (February 20) and weekly Erbitux treatments (every Friday until March 6 I believe)
• no major infection or any other major complication
• complete disappearance of cough for her comfort
• good veins for intravenous infusions throughout the remainder of her treatment, i.e., that no Port-A-Cath or central line be needed
• good PET scan result (to be done after all the treatments are completed)
• complete healing in the Lord's time
• total surrender to the Lord's will
• greater intimacy with the Lord
• greater joy and peace
• that the Lord will grant her her heart's desires

It's me again, Cheryl.  We continue to praise the Lord for his goodness and love.  Chevy just got through her fifth cycle of chemotherapy uneventfully today.  Indeed, the Lord is good and merciful.  Please continue to pray for complete healing.  The plan is to do two more weekly rounds of Erbitux alone after the sixth chemotherapy cycle.  Then, she is to undergo a PET scan.  I am very optimistic about it, because we have a mighty God.  We are not praying for shrinkage alone, but for total disappearance of all tumors!  Please pray for this coming week as it is the toughest when it comes to nausea and appetite.  Please also pray that she will have minimal numbness, tingling, and itching.  May God bless you all richly as you continue to bless us by praying for Chevy.

And this remains to be my prayer for all of us ... that we may be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12).