Day 33 – Tuesday (9/25/18)
Health update: Still Trucking. Still Waiting (now on the treatment plan). The oncologist called today and setup the appointment to discuss my treatment plan. That appointment is around lunchtime on Friday. That was the soonest they could get me in. They said they would call me if there were any cancellations prior to Friday. I must say, God did answer my prayer from last night’s post. I asked for the appointment to be before the weekend, and that is what has worked out. I guess I was secretly hoping for something sooner… like today or tomorrow… but honestly, what’s a few more days at this point.
Thought of the day: Patience
I found it fitting today to talk about patience. I knew at the beginning of this process not to pray for patience. I have always been told if you pray for patience, then God will teach you patience. Whether that is accurate or not, I didn’t want to test the theory. Lucky for me, praying for it or not… I have been given the opportunity to learn and display patience. This got me thinking about a bible story I remembered from some time back. Genesis 29:18 “Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”” Genesis 29:20 “So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.” If you will remember, the big wedding day comes, and Genesis 29:25 ”So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah”. That’s right… 7 years laboring, and Jacob did not receive what he was promised. He got the older sister instead. So what happened next? Genesis 29:27-28 “Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years. Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.”
That’s right. First off, Jacob waited patiently, laboring, for 7 years to gain Rachel as his wife. Then, because of the trickery of Laban, he had to serve ANOTHER 7 years to gain Rachel as his wife. Now that… is patience. How easy is it for some of us to give up hope after a day, after a week, after a month… But 7 years? And then, have it all ripped away and have to wait another 7 years? Yeah, this put it in perspective for me. Patience is relative, and in the course of a lifetime, what is waiting another couple of days to hear my treatment plan.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for answering my prayer yesterday. I asked that You would help me get an appointment before the weekend, and You helped me do just that. Thank You for reminding me that patience is all about perspective. In the course of life, what is another couple of days? In the course of eternity, what is this life? Meaning, I’m so thankful that I know You as my personal savior that I may spend eternity with You, as opposed to eternity in hell. I pray that everyone reading this prayer today can say the same thing. If they cannot claim You as their personal savior, please prick their hearts that they may seek to know You personally today. I continue to thank You for all that You do for me every day, and I look forward to seeing what treatment plan You have in store for me on Friday. Amen.