Off on a trip

Early this morning we’re leaving for a 4-day trip, so postings will be erratic Friday through Sunday. Assume I’m okay. Saturday evening and Sunday morning we’ll be with our friends at Ebenezer Mennonite Church in Bluffton, Ohio. They’re the folks who come to SIM for a week every February, bringing a trailer load of delicious farm products, and working as only Mennonites know how in our kitchens, grounds, and offices. It sounds as though their whole church exists for mission, both at home and abroad. We are so looking forward to visiting them.

Chuck has created a spreadsheet that tracks all my lab reports throughout this journey with “little c.” I see that a reading of hemoglobin 11.8 really is the highest it’s been when I’m on a taxene-based kemo, both a year ago and now. In between were two other protocols that allowed the CA 125 to keep rising (not good), but also allowed a higher hemoglobin (good). Of course, the cancer broke through the first taxene-based drug last year in April, so there’s no way of predicting what will happen this time. God knows. He cares. He’s in control. He wins. We’re okay.

This discussion puts me in mind to think about science. Dr. Francis S. Collins directed the highly successful Human Genome Project at the National Institutes of Health. He is also a deeply committed follower of Christ. An atheist for many years, he was nevertheless impressed by some patients who showed strong faith in God despite terrible suffering. At last, he says, “Something came to me. As a scientist, I had always insisted on collecting rigorous data before drawing a conclusion. And yet, in matters of faith, I had never collected any data at all. I did not know what I had rejected. So I decided I should be a little better grounded in my atheism. I had better find out what this is all about.” He was advised to read the Gospel of John, then C S Lewis’ Mere Christianity. He continues, “I realized … that I needed to study the Creator. After struggling many months, I realized that if there was a God, He was holy and I was not. I realized for the first time just how flawed a person I was. I then recognized what Christ did by providing a bridge between God and all His holiness and me and all my unholiness. Finally I gave in….” Then about 12 years ago came the call to the NIH, with the resulting science of genomics, which I think will unwrap powerful medical benefits in coming years. He says, “Scientists who are Christians have a critical role to play in this genomic revolution both as scientists and as contributors to the ethical discussions. ... I think scientist-believers are the most fortunate. We have the opportunity to explore the natural world at a time in history where mysteries are being revealed almost on a daily basis. We have the opportunity to perceive the unraveling of those mysteries in a special perspective that is an uncovering of God’s grandeur. This is a particularly wonderful form of worship.”

Amen.

Carol