The Fine Print

For those who didn’t check yesterday, the new CA 125 number is 115.28. That is a lovely drop of 70 points since a month ago. We passed this way once before, about a year ago, and got all the way down to 40.5 before the cancer broke through and started climbing again. We’re thankful that it’s dropping again, and especially thankful to feel well. Most of all, we’re thankful to know that God is in complete control of cancer and every other detail of our lives, and He is good—so all is well.

A friend forwarded a devotional by John Fischer. First Fischer quotes 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair,” etc.) He calls it the “fine print” of the Christian life; it’s what we signed up for. Then he explains…

“It’s a reverse spiritual principle that nonetheless is true: We get beaten down so that Christ might rise in us. It’s the whole idea God has of avoiding confusion. He doesn’t want people confusing human power and achievement with his power and what he is achieving in and through our lives. If all Christians were super-Christians, people would be impressed with them. As it is, God wants people to be surprised at us, not so much impressed – surprised that we can keep on believing, given what has happened to us.

“It’s important to know this so that the things that happen don’t throw us into a tailspin. Paul wrote in the passage above that troubles, confusions, knock-downs, and drag-outs are all to be expected in a life of faith, and they are not just something to suck it up and endure, they are what will actually release the power of God in our lives. We encounter death-like experiences so that Christ’s life-like nature may clearly be seen in us, despite what is happening.”

Okay, so we’re not begging for more trouble. But we should all settle deep into the conviction that the above paragraphs are true. If you know it ahead of time, then you can FROG even when “fungi” threaten your survival.

On Saturday, when I have a bit more time, I’ll gather together all the prescriptions (comments) people have submitted for defeating the fungi and protecting the FROGgin.

I woke up coughing (I'm not sick) at 4:00 this morning. Then I wanted to go back to sleep, until I remembered that Jeremy, in yesterday's blog, had urgently asked for prayer at precisely that hour. Thankful for the cough, I spent a little time praying for him and his friend Ibrahim, whom he was meeting at 10:00 in Niger (4:00 here) -- needing God's wisdom to help Ibrahim sort out some knotty issues in his life. They plan to be together all day, so there's still time to pray.

Have a great day.
Love,
Carol