“Today Karen Chased Me Around the Table!”

Update on Karen November 4, 2015

Karen and I are surrounded by so many friends and family that love us and care about her situation. We can never begin to express to our precious supporters how much we appreciate your prayers. You are such a tremendous encouragement to us. Thank you so much for your faithfulness and your willingness to go with us on this journey.

The past few days have been difficult for my Karen as she has had the heavy side effects of her maintenance chemotherapy. As you will remember her last infusion was this past Friday. Typically by Sunday evening she starts not to feel so well and then on Monday and Tuesday she experiences some of the heavier side effects. This morning she looked like she was feeling better. Her voice sounded stronger, she slept better, and she simply looked like she was feeling better.

So you will never believe what she did at lunchtime! Our home has always been built on in addition to other things, upon the Word of God, the principles of grace and mercy, and the joy of laughter. Today at lunchtime she was feeling well enough to let her two little pets outside to do their business. As she came in I stood on the other side of our dining room table holding a bag of flavored potato chips that has tasted good to her. I said to her, “I love this table. You can’t get to me from the other side. I bet you can’t catch me!” With that she took off running at speeds that you could not believe! This little lady with Stage IV lung cancer outran me before I was able to get around the table once! We stood holding onto each other and laughing at the top of our voices.

In the midst of very deep waters we are finding that the Lord Jesus himself brings joy to our hearts and truly we provide plenty of amusement to each other and others around us. It reminds me “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). While there are times of tears, fears, and very serious talks, there are also times of joy and laughter for Michael and Karen. We are committed to celebrating every single day that the Lord gives us together.

Karen’s next doctor’s appointment will be with the pulmonologist on Friday. All of her numbers from the blood tests are coming back in the very good to normal range. She is breathing well. She has no pain. As I headed back to work after lunch she said to me, “I have so many blessings for which to be thankful.” I stopped and smiled at her and quietly thanked the Lord once again for bringing her into my life way back in the third grade.