In the Valley of Baca Journal #18

“What if Thou make us able to make like Thee?
To light with moons, to clothe with greenery,
To hang gold sunsets o’er a rose and purple sea?”
~George MacDonald

In the Valley of Baca Journal #18

Dec. 24, 2018: I have been encouraged by a recent report that Lynparza, the maintenance medication I am taking, performed excellently in three studies involving late stage ovarian cancer.  Still, I’m not depending on that for my hope, but rather on Jesus.

I have been enjoying this Christmas season with the family, with an added depth of appreciation for them and for life.  As a friend pointed out recently, none of us knows how many, or even if, we will have more Christmas-times together.

Dec. 26,2018: “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; [your eyes] will behold a land of wide distances that stretches afar.” ~Isaiah 33:17  This promise for my future beyond this life make that “hope ember” glow in my heart.

Jan. 6, 2019: “Ah, Lord God, behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and outstretched arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee.” ~Jeremiah 32:17 

I am gazing at the awesome beauty of the morning sky here in Sanibel, Florida, planets Venus and Jupiter lighting the eastern horizon above the sea as morning stars. The Almighty God Who created them, by His “stretched out arm,” also created me. And, because of Jesus, I am His—and He is mine.  There is no safer place to be.

January 23, 2019: The sea is roaring today, and I love the sound of it. A strong wind has whipped the waves into a frenzy.

Celebrating my 72^nd birthday tomorrow! As my grandma used to say, “I can’t believe I am this old!” I have come to the realization that each new day in my life is a gift to be celebrated with thankfulness.

I am thankful also for the medication that allows me to continue on this journey. I’m feeling quite well, although my strength is compromised and I’m dealing with some mild to moderate side effects lingering from my summer chemotherapy treatment. But I can live with them.

January 24, 2019: It is 6 a.m. and I find myself meditating on the fact that 72 years ago this morning, at this time, my mother was in labor at a hospital in Hamtramack, Michigan, about to give birth to me in two hours at 8:25 a.m.  My uncle was her attending physician who delivered me. I had no choice in the matter—no choice as to the hour or day of my birth, no choice as to the family I was being born into, no choice even in my own existence.  All that was predetermined for me.

However, I do now have choices—how I live my life and with whom, whether to put my faith in God, trusting the Lord Jesus with my life and my future—innumerable choices as I walk through life, day by day. This life, that begins with choices being made for us, ends in the same manner. We don’t have the right to choose when our life here on earth is to end—although some people usurp that power and do end their own lives. But only God, who is the Giver of life, has that right to decide when earthly life is to end.  I trust Him—He is kind, He is loving, I am safe with Him. This is my choice.