Fixing our Eyes on God

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!  Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.

Isaiah 26:3-4

Summer is here! The heat, the humidity, the sun, but unfortunately no pool for our area yet.  Like everything these days, we are making the most of it and have an inflatable pool set up in the back yard.   A friend kindly offered to go to Wal-Mart and get a pool for me, they were so cheap I bought two knowing the boys would destroy at least one this Summer.  All three kids are missing the pool so much they are playing in it and having a great time.   

We have had a busy two weeks since I last wrote.  I have had rounds of chemo #4 and #5.  We have bought a “new” to us house and sold our house.  We move in mid-July.  I know you are thinking “are they crazy?”   Right in the middle of chemo, with surgery and radiation following that, a child heading off to college, and don’t forget about COVID-19.  At night we lay in bed and think “we are crazy…” 

A little back story.  We live in a perfect neighborhood and we have loved our house.  In November Chris was blessed with a great promotion at work which meant we could move to a bigger, newer house, with a garage and closet space, among other things.  In November we started casually looking.  We love the area we live in and the kids love their school.  That gave us a very small radius in which to move.  The area we live in does not have many houses that are nicer than our current home (which we love!), so we were limited to two small neighborhoods.  These neighborhoods put about 1 house on the market a year.  When a house went on the market, we felt we had to act or wait another 2 years to move.  

We saw the house and loved it, but also knew the timing was not great.  We put a contract on the house and gave it to God.  There was another contract on the house (not surprising), and we figured it was not meant to be our dream home.  Strangely, we were at total peace with not getting the house because it was in God’s hands.  It was a total surprise to us that they choose our contract and the house was ours!  

Then we started to panic! 

How on earth, with me in the middle of a chemo treatment that has me laid up in bed for 5 out of 7 days, were we going to get our house in shape to list it?  Again, we gave it to God, and He provided.  Currently, at least for the day after chemo,  I have the energy of the Energizer Bunny because I have a steroid in me.  We got so much done I just worked from room to room, dictating what would go in the POD and what would stay until we moved.  The kids and Chris were amazing and never complained.  We sorted, cleaned and threw away for 3 days.  When I was not feeling well Chris would get me set up in a room and bring me stuff to decide – stay or go.  The kids did so much.  

Once I was not the energizer bunny Chris took on that role.  He worked at his real job, managed the kids, and got the house in order early in the morning and at night.  I think the kids were actually happy to have something to do!  

Side note: send your children on Mission trips!  Not only are they great for them spiritually, our daughter has learned how to spackle and paint on these trips.  She filled in all the nail holes and did touch up paint.  If you know how I decorate, that is a lot of wall holes – not to mention the dart board that was used a lot but rarely hit.   My sister and one of her daughters also came and helped pack and load the POD while I laid in bed.  

Once again, we gave the selling of the house over to God and He provided.  We had two contracts the second day it was on the market.  Things are moving along.  We are taking a breath this week and will start packing next week.  We are amazed that as we are telling people (or they are finding out on their own), so many have offered to help with whatever we need.   God is providing, and our friends and family are just the best!  

Our quarantine life has been very busy – so much so that some days I forget all about COVID.  Then I remember and try not to get worried or overwhelmed by the fact that life is still not “normal.”  Now when I turn on the news it is full of the protesting.  Sometimes it does seem like God has just left us here to sort it all out on our own.  That is why it is so important now to trust in the Lord always.  Change is coming from the protests, family time and slowing down is coming from COVID.  

Hopefully you are taking this time to be in the Word more.  I know I am, and my kids are.   My mom is reading through the Bible during COVID.  If you are not in the Word during this pause in normalcy, challenge yourself to start with the 4 Gospels and read two chapters a day.   The life of Jesus was amazing, and it is so important to remind ourselves HE gave his life for us!

In other news (like I said we have had a busy two weeks), our daughter graduated from High School!  It was sad to drive up to the school and be handed a bag with her cap and gown and diploma in it.  The principal spoke to each car of kids, put the bag in, and we took some photos.  Again, we are making the best of it.   Our neighborhood had a drive by where the graduates rode in cars and we lined the streets with our cheers and posters.  The church did a drive by where the graduates stood in the parking lot and the church members drove by and congratulated them.  We have had virtual senior nights for track and band, and a virtual turning of the tassel.  We even did a yard graduation with some friends.   None of these compare to being there in person but we have enjoyed all of them.  God has provided.   

For many of these events I have not had good days, but through prayer, God gave me the strength to be present and participate in all of them.  It has been a joy to see how excited our daughter has been at each of these events.  And as I said at our yard graduation, she has been a joy to raise and God has great things in store for her in the future.  

Wow that was a lot!  Thank you for reading the whole thing and caring about our little lives.  

Here are the prayer requests for the next few weeks:  Today at chemo my white blood cell count was right on the edge of not being able to have treatment.  Please pray that my white blood count will go up and I can still have chemo. next week.  As much as I love the idea of taking a week off, we don’t want that.  That the side effects of chemo will continue to be minimal and I will have less fatigue this week.  And finally, smooth sailings for our move.  

I LOVE that several people have asked for my chemo. schedule so here it is:

6/16 9:30 am
6/23 9:30 am
6/30 10:00 am
Week of 7/7 I get to take off to go to the beach (yea!)
7/14 9:00 am
7/21 9:30 am
7/28 10:00 am
8/4  9:30 am – last chemo! (as long as white blood cell count stays good) 

Appointment with the plastic surgeon on 6/10 at 2:00

Appointment with the surgeon on 6/11 at 2:00

Thank you so much for your prayers- they truly sustain me – especially during chemo treatments.