Sunday, September 14, 2014

In sickness AND in health...



Kevin, you are my strength, my love, and my joy. I thank God for the opportunity to share my life with you, and, in front of God, our family, and friends, I promise to love, cherish, and obey you, and to stand alongside you and support you in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad. Whether we are rich or poor in money, with God’s help, I pledge to keep our lives and our home rich in love for each other and for the God who has brought us together as long as we both shall live.

Nearly three years ago, I spoke those words as I married my husband. Little did I know that certain parts of those vows would come into play to the extent they have so early in our marriage. About six months into our marriage, we made the decision for Kevin to have a vasectomy. There were some complications following the procedure, which ended up being a blessing, as it led to his urologist discovering that Kevin had a testicular growth, which turned out to be cancerous. The cancer was caught just in time, as the tumor was just barely inside the Stage 1 guidelines. (I’m not one to believe in coincidences, and truly believe that God orchestrated that timing!) On July 31, 2012, nearly 10 months after our wedding, he had surgery, followed by a round of radiation in October/November of that year. Following the radiation, Kevin was given the all-clear from the doctor, and we began the 5-year countdown to being considered cured.

Fast forward to June of this year. After over a year and a half of negative tumor marker tests, Kevin’s blood work began to show an increase in one of the tumor marker levels. Each successive test showed an increase over the one before, leading to additional doctor appointments, including one with a medical oncologist this past Friday. In that appointment, we received the news that we were hoping not to hear: Kevin’s cancer has returned. Thankfully, due to the regular blood tests, it was caught early, and with chemo, he has an excellent prognosis, with a 99% cure rate. He is scheduled to begin chemo on October 20th.

Obviously, this has been difficult for both of us. I began this year with the intention to focus on learning to love well; the past few months have been a true test of that intention in terms of loving God and loving my husband well, even in the difficult times. My prayer is that God would continue to guide me as I honor that intention, and more importantly, as I honor my vow to stand with him and support him in sickness and in health. We both would appreciate your prayers for Kevin as he undergoes the treatments, that the side effects would be at a minimum, and that God would use this time to draw us closer to each other and to Him.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

One Little Word 2014



If I speak in the tongues of men or angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1


Several years ago, I came across the idea of choosing one word to focus on for the year, rather than making a list of resolutions. Apparently, it’s an idea that started in the scrapbooking community (which is probably where I first heard it), but has spread well beyond that. The last two years, I spent much of December and into January trying to choose a word for my One Little Word, but never could quite come up with something that liked.

2014 is a different story. I can’t remember when God first put the word in my heart, but I know it was confirmed for me when I began reading a book my sister gave me for my birthday in October, Love Does, by Bob Goff. (If you’re looking for an enjoyable book that has the potential to change your life, I highly recommend this one!)

For 2014, my One Little Word will be LOVE. I commit to spend the year learning how to love well – how to love God with all my heart, to love my husband the way God created me to love him, to love my family and friends in such a way that they see God through me, and finally, and maybe most importantly, to love my enemies and those with whom I disagree without sacrificing my own faith and beliefs. I know this last area will be the most challenging, but it’s also the one where I’ve been most convicted. How do I show love those who make decisions that go against my beliefs without accepting the decisions they’ve made? In other words, how do I love the sinner while hating the sin? How do I love such that my voice is not just a resounding gong or clanging cymbal, but is actually making a difference in the world?

I don’t know where my One Little Word is going to take me this year, but I pray that God will use it to shape me into the Godly woman He has created me to be. I want to end 2014 with more “faith, hope and love – but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)