Friends!

After not writing for a few weeks, Caroline and I wanted to share some news with you. Some of the best news we have to share are our friends, and yes that includes family too :). Friends are blessings and each friend has their own gift, and that gift is a blessing to others. To name a few, those blessings come in the form of taking care of Naomi, picking up Naomi, taking care of Marcus and Risa, getting a car, getting a distiller, phone calls, cards, massage, visits, music, food, emails, driving help, thoughtful advice, and PRAYERS - all with the common theme of LOVE! And not to leave out Jesus, our best friend. Jesus is like all of our wonderful friends wrapped into one, but His friendship is unsurpassable and of course He is without spots or blemishes - unlike the rest of us. :) What better friend can we have? The really amazing consideration is that He is there whenever we reach out to Him. HE is ALWAYS by our side and He is always there with an answer to prayer, which sometimes comes in the form of friends just like you! On the surface a visit from friend may not seem like a miracle or answer to prayer but why not?

Ok, I know you didn't read the blog to get Steve's perspective on friendship so to fill you in on Caroline's health, in short I can say that the chemo has started out a bit rough. Her energy level is pretty low most all the time and if she has good energy she spends it on a well focused project. She gets localized pains for no apparent reason and they don't want to go away without medical help. Yesterday was rough but today is a great day. The pain is under control which often means that the frustration and the heavy duty anxiety evils are down. Yesterday with the help of a friend, via answers to prayers, Caroline was able to calm and get some much needed rest. Human weakness united with God's power is pretty awesome to observe! We have seen this more than once on this journey so far. Psalm 18:28 tells us that God will enlighten our darkness! That statement can mean different things at different times but when Caroline is sliding down into the pit of despair (largely due to unquenchable pain) that light can be pretty powerful. Last night God gave the wisdom to help get back up and it was amazing to watch. Last night was one of those times when there was light on our pathway. Caroline thinks that some of our friends actually have wings tucked under their clothes. :)

Well, Caroline's hair has started to give itself up to the chemo. She has been a good sport about it and is recognizing that it's just a fact and one of the hurdles we need to jump over. She is looking for scarves and one of our neighbor friends has already crocheted a fancy cap for her. It's quite cute!

This Thursday is the 2nd of six rounds of chemo. We ask that you all will pray for Caroline. And actually the day of chemo isn't that bad. It takes, 7-14 days to reach the Nadir, or low point. But that's a relative term. Again, please lift up Caroline to the Throne of Grace in your prayers.

So on that note we leave you with Proverbs 3:6: In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. That's ALL your paths, no matter where you are now or where you are going. Pretty neat isn't it, and tying that with 18:28 (above) he will shine the light on the path and direct us!

God bless!