Hold on!

Thanks for praying. I'm feeling stronger. Weird things keep happening. On Wednesday my eyes were watering so badly that I had to pull off the road twice on my way to work because I couldn't see to drive. I was leading the prayer chapel that morning, so everyone saw the tears running. (I explained that it was the chemo.) Someone prayed, and the problem went away. Now I'm retaining at least 5 pounds of fluid, especially in my ankles and legs. I have pills for that, but they spike up my potassium levels. Please help me pray that the fluid will go away.

One of the finest musicians I've ever met lives in Michigan and directs a community choir there. This week she sent me their CD of spirituals. It's a celebration just to listen! One of the songs says, "Keep your hand to the plow. Hold on!" It brought back a tender memory of the Sunday morning nearly 65 years ago when I insisted, "I want to learn the 'Golden Text' for today." (Our small church used a Sunday School curriculum in which everyone studied the same topic and Bible memory verse.) It happened to be Luke 9:62. "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then turns back is not fit for the Kingdom of God." (Strange first memory project for a 4-year-old, but my dear mom was a great believer in memorizing the Word of God, and that was only the first of hundreds of verses that we learned together.) As I'm focusing on Christ's sufferings these days, I realize that He was fully able to turn back at any point during those dreadful hours, but He "kept His hand to the plow" with each painful step, every agonizing breath. I hate to think how terrible it would be for us if He had not held on. But it would be terrible for Him too, because He really wanted us! Imagine!

None of us has the power to change the time or manner of our death. But we face countless moments when we can turn back from loving and trusting Jesus. We'll still die, and He'll still carry us through by His grace, but we'll have missed the opportunity to honor Him in the midst of our pain. Let us pray for one another, that we'll "Hold on." It is, after all, only temporary.

Blessings,
Carol