Monthly Archives: May 2014

So Much Good

Posted on by

Today when I asked Mary for her choice of prayer requests for tonight’s blog, she paused. “You know,” she said, “I can’t think of a single request. Only praises.”

Beach bums.Of course some of her requests from recent days are still relevant, but she had no new ones. “I have so much to be grateful for,” she said. At the time we were sitting on a Michigan beach under blue skies enjoying 85 degrees.

I said, “Maybe you’re all about praises because cancer has rearranged the way you look at things, at everything.”

Mary agreed. “It’s so easy to take life’s good things for granted. Cancer changes that. Nothing can be assumed after that, not even the small things.”

It’s the old conundrum of not appreciating what we have until we’ve lost it. In one sense, Mary’s lost something important: good health. But as we talked, we realized she’s already gained more than she’s lost. After all, the only thing on her mind today was the many ways she felt like praising God.

“Ok,” I said. “Let’s list them.”

She jumped right in. “I praise God for a husband who has insisted I learn to say ‘no’ to people. It has always gone against me to say no, but during this season, especially after I start chemo next week, I know it’s the right thing to do.”

She went on. “I praise the Lord that my adult children and my grandchildren want to be with me, with us. After watching them rally around as they have for the last 2 months, I’ll never again take them or their love for granted.”

She continued. “I praise God for the cards, letters, and gifts that keep coming in! And the best part is that time and time again, exactly the right encouraging word arrives, just when I need it most. It’s God doing that, I’m sure.”

As I scribbled down what she was saying, she kept going. “I’m thankful for my new car and for driving privileges. After totaling my old one in an accident just before my diagnosis, we didn’t shop for another one, since I might not have been well enough to drive it. But here I am, driving again and enjoying it more than ever.”

And there was more. “I praise God for this beautiful summer day and time to sit in a beach chair, right in the middle of the busiest week I’ve had in a long time. Even this day is programmed with wedding planning and errand running, but for the moment, being on this beach is a balm to my soul.

It's all good.“Even the popsicles Stina brought to the beach just now were a wonderful treat. I don’t know what life will be like during 6 months of chemo, but today I want to praise God for these last weeks when I can honestly say I’ve had more good days than bad. I’ve decided,” she said, “that from here on I’m going to work at appreciating what I do have, rather than what I don’t.”

….a good philosophy for us all.

“Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven.” (James 1:17)

No requests today!

A Pinning

Posted on by

PinterestInternet users might know the word “pinning” from the site pinterest.com where they can pin photos of personal interest to “pinboards”, like yummy-looking recipes, clever decorating ideas, or hoped-for travel destinations.

But this isn’t the only kind of pinning. Wrestlers can win a match by “pinning” their oppo- nent’s shoulders to the mat for a required number of seconds.

And surgeons sometimes perform “pinnings” to stabilize unsteady joints. Our mom had this kind of surgery after breaking her hip.

Back in the 1950’s a college girl could be “pinned” with her boyfriend’s fraternity pin as a pre-engagement commitment. This “pinning” was followed several months later by a diamond ring and soon after that, a wedding band.

Stina's pinOne other kind of “pinning” is accompanied by a formal ceremony in a crowded room filled with people taking pictures. It’s the official welcoming of a nursing student into the profession, and each one receives a pin representing the college where they were trained.

 

Mary's pinning

Mary and Bervin attended Stina’s pinning today in Chicago, excited to see their newly-graduated daughter step into the next phase of her life. It was especially meaningful for Mary, who remembers her own 1966 pinning ceremony. Stina’s tender heart, much like her mother’s, guarantees that she will be the kind of nurse who consistently blesses her patients.

All of these pinnings have something in common: each one is the outward evidence of what’s been going on inside. For example, Pinterest lets us know what someone is about to do, try, or make. A wrestler’s pinning informs the crowd of his determination to dominate his opponent. A fraternity pinning reveals the strong love of a guy for a girl, and a nurse’s pinning tells the world she’s learned how to medically assist a patient.

And there’s one other pinning, a more important event than all the others combined. It’s the moment we fasten ourselves to our heavenly Father in a permanent partnership. Once we’re pinned to him, there’s no way we can be unpinned. Nothing exists strong enough to pull us apart. And our joy in this pinning lets others know how we feel about the One to whom we’ve been pinned.

IMG_1515As Stina moves into the busy world of active nursing, may the pin she wears be a steady reminder of her permanent, personal connection with the Lord. May she take advantage of his expertise with hospital patients and health problems, by first getting his opinion about what each patient needs. And if she follows his instructions, she’ll end up the most popular nurse in the whole hospital.

“Whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)

 

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Praise for another very good day, this one watching Stina graduate
  2. Praise for being able to eat regular food again
  3. Pray that pain around the feeding tube would calm like it did before

 

Bible Study

Posted on by

Back in the 1940’s when Mary and I were young, our mom, a Christian, would love to have studied the Bible with other women, but this kind of organization didn’t exist apart from adult Sunday school classes. These days, women have a plethora of weekday Bible studies from which to choose. Beginning in the 1950’s, organizations like Bible Study Fellowship and InterVarsity began springing up in response to women’s growing thirst for more of God’s Word.

Winnetka Covenant ChurchI remember well the first of these Bible studies I attended. It was 1978, and though it didn’t meet at my church, the point was simply to dig into God’s Word together (several hundred of us) without worrying about different denominations. Mom lived directly across the street from that church and invited Mary and I to sign up for the study, offering to care for our babies while we attended.

Those several years were the beginning of “habitual” Bible study for Mary and me. By that I mean we learned so much, we couldn’t wait to begin each next session and dove into our weekly homework with gusto. After we’d been through all the lessons offered by that group, we moved to another one and studied further, making good friends along the way.

Fast-forward to yesterday. Mary experienced something she described as “so wonderful I could hardly stand it!” She had the deep satisfaction of returning to a Bible study group she’d been part of for 25 years, though not the last two.

This particular branch of Community Bible Study has over 300 weekly attendees, and Mary began attending in the 1980’s. After being a small group leader for several years, she took a position as a senior leader, leading the leaders. It was that special group she visited yesterday, 30-some women who know Mary well and who’ve prayed without ceasing since her cancer diagnosis.

As Mary said, “Bible study is always meaningful, but when you do it with other women for years on end, you bond like family. Being with them again was thrilling!”

CBS Leaders.In the presence of these “family members” yesterday, she said she looked from face to face and just drank them in, grateful for each one. “Anyone can study the Bible,” she said, “but hearing what other women are learning, and spending time praying with them causes deep friendships to develop. A group Bible study is far more than just studying.”

Yesterday the women prayed with Mary, and as she left 30 minutes later to keep her next commitment, she told me she “couldn’t contain her joy and in the car spoke to God out loud,” thanking him for all the years with these dear friends, and the great bonus of 30 minutes yesterday.

Surely it pleases God any time we huddle over his Word, and he rewards us with knowledge and understanding. But when we study with others, his extra gift is the rich fellowship that results.

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man [or woman] sharpens another.”  (Proverbs 27:17)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Praise for women friendships and today’s current Bible study
  2. Praise for time with family tonight
  3. Pray for her to be Spirit-led through this busy week