Romans 12:12 Revisited

Late October 2014.  Almost ten months in on this journey, and we are crossing another bridge.  A very significant bridge.  If her counts cooperate, Paige will begin the maintenance phase of treatment tomorrow morning--complete with a spinal tap and short chemotherapy infusion.  This final phase will be her 'hangout' for just under two years.  Seems like a great time to revisit the verse that has come to epitomize how we do life in this family.  

Be joyful in hope.  Joyful, ecstatic, overjoyed.  Paige is healing.  Did you catch that?  She is healing!  To say we are thankful for the work God is doing in her life is the understatement of the millennium.  We thank Him every day for the healing He has done.  For the healing that is to come.  For just a glimpse at this miracle in the making, take a look at the before and after.  A giant 16-centimeter mass blocked air and blood flow--it is GONE, my friends.  Out of here.  Leukemia cells have been banished from her bone marrow.  Treatments and procedures, side effects and hospital stays.  Over the last nine months, Paige's body has tolerated things that would leave most adults in a puddle on the floor, yet she doesn't dwell on that.  Nope, not this girl.  She's too busy looking ahead to the future.  Her future.  Paige plans on becoming a pediatric oncology nurse.  She has such a heart for kiddos going through similar experiences--I have no doubt she will be amazing.  How's that for hope?  Makes this mom pretty stinkin' joyful!

Patient in affliction.  Healing takes time.  Patience.  Faith in God's timing.  Trust in His perfect plan.  I'm here to tell you--it's not an easy task, not by a long shot.  Seeing my daughter struggle to breathe, her body blasted and weakened from various treatments, and just knowing she was in the fight of her life has been nothing less than heart-wrenching at times.  Just when it feels like this journey is taking too long, that it needs to be done now--I have to take a breath and remember just who is in control.  Remember just how blessed we really are.  It's times like this when that peace that really does pass all understanding takes over.

Faithful in prayer.  Every day.  Every night.  All the time in between.  We thank God for putting Paige on the road to healing.  We thank Him for making her stronger.  For making our family stronger.  We pray for healing for hospital and clinic friends whose paths have crossed with ours--and peace and comfort for their families.  Prayer works, my friends.  God makes miracles happen every single day.  Our miracle's name is Paige.  Take a look at her amazingly beautiful smile and try to tell me otherwise.

Hope.  Patience.  Faith.  It's how we do life.  How we will continue to do life.  God is good--all the time.