thank you

I just want to say thank you to those of you who have recently written in response to Joshua’s latest battle with pain and now his surgery. I’m reminded of Moses in the scriptures who had his arms held up to keep blessing and victory flowing to the Israellites, but I think we are being held up completely by the love and support of so many. The scriptures, poems, words of encouragement all serve to hold us up and keep us going. We really feel that we are not in this alone. How gracious God has been and is to us. I pray for each of you in your personal struggles, which I know we all have, that God will give you strength and encouragement from others and in many other creative ways that only He can.

There’s a verse of scripture I have always loved and have desired for it to be true in my life and in those around me. But it is not easy to live nor is it always apparent in our churches and communities. “And they will know that you are Christians by the great love that you have for one another”. And, of course the more well known verse, “faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.” God is making these truths a reality in our lives and we feel very very blessed. But it is because of all of you and your selfless acts of kindness on our behalf. Suffering is made so much more tolerable in the midst of love. I so pray that God is building this truth into my heart and soul…but I know we will NEVER be able to repay the kindness and love we’ve received. It has truly been “above and beyond all that we can ask or think”.

Both Joshua and I are nervous (you can see I am still awake at 2:30am and he just got up to check on me and fix his sweaty sheets) but we both know that this new experience of surgery is surely going to create some anxiousness. How fortunate we are to KNOW that we have a God who is is total control. Our anxiety would be much greater, to say the least. Feelings come and go, but our faith lasts forever.

I will let you all know how the surgery goes tomorrow and hopefully I will have a good report with the word ‘pain’ absent from the description. (that might be a little too much wishful thinking, especially right after surgery, but at least the pain that he has endured from this latest ‘find’ of cancer be substantially reduced). Who knows…God may surprise us!

Love to you all,
Kristi and Joshua