What a great verse–I have always loved Psalm 18, and especially verse 28, but so much more right now in some days that don’t always seem so light. As I’ve said before, it is so awesome to me that God redeems even the laziest and most “unproductive” of our days by the world’s standards into something imbued with purpose. That said, I love how this Psalm chronicles all the ways the Lord has saved David–and Israel, too–and how it’s such a reminder that, every time, God is faithful! He HAS always rescued his people, and He WILL always turn their darkness into light.

And now, speaking of darkness…. The last few days have been the bad days (5 & 6), but, the best part about day 6 is at the end of the day (so, tonight) when there’s such relief that each day until the next treatment is going to at least be better than the previous one. That’s definitely something to look forward to. My dad has said again and again that, once this is all said and done and I have my last treatment in mid-May, the best part will be waking up each day and knowing that, on this day, I will feel better than before and will know what a gift feeling good is for each day. It’s all about perspective, I think we are learning. As for the extent of my feeling bad on this cycle’s days 5 and 6, it has not been the worst that I’ve had, but they were pretty unfortunate since I developed a cold somewhere in the last week, so instead of just feeling achy and lethargic like I had the flu this round, I actually felt the cold symptoms of that, too, this time. PTL that I have not had a fever, though–seriously, such a praise…especially since I am going home on Friday and then on to Baylor and OU before my next treatment on Thursday, February 5th. So, we will keep praying for healing, for no fever, and that the trip is a great one…slash, also that I don’t have to wear a surgical mask on the airplane. That would be real cool and all, but thinking about that makes me feel claustrophobic. 🙂

The purpose of this post is mostly to let you know that I’m still alive, have survived (hopefully and prayerfully!) the worst days following my 4th treatment, and to say that I have completed 2 rounds of chemo and am 1/3 of the way down this unexpected road! PRAISE THE LORD! ALSO, by the time most of you read this, it will have already happened, but I’ll still give a heads-up that I have my 1st check-up PET scan tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11:45am. My nurse practitioner Sarah Miyata checked me over and felt the site of my former lymph nodes above my collarbone last week, and since they are gone (yeah–after 1 treatment those visible lymph nodes vanished!), she said she’s thinking my PET scan will come back negative, saying that my cancer is gone! So, huge prayer that the scan results are all clear! I think I said before that this is a huge step in the process of “kicking cancer’s butt,” or victory, as we like to think of it, so I would love your prayers that the scan will indeed be 100% clear.

The last thing I have for right now somewhat ties in with my first thoughts on Psalm 18 but also is just something that has rung so true with me lately. My parents’ long-time friend Vicki Mullins sent me a book called The Red Sea Rules and there are 10 different rules that this author (Robert J. Morgan) has found to be true–both in Israel’s history and in his own experience with difficult times. The first rule is “Realize that God means for you to be where you are.” Morgan explains that, “when you are in a difficult place, realize that the Lord either placed you there or allowed you to be there, for reasons perhaps known for now only to Himself. The same God who led you IN will lead you OUT.” As much as I have seen a glimpse of how a parent feels at seeing their child in pain and that has reshaped my view of how God sympathizes and goes through suffering with us, at the same time, it is so true that nothing we go through is outside of God’s vision, so accepting the fact that He’s got a reason for either placing me and my family here or allowing us to be placed here can definitely be hard at times. I’ll be honest–there are definitely days when I’m thinking, “Ok, Lord, but like maybe You could’ve just given me a lot of homework this semester or told me I’d have to stay in the Midwest for the next few years” (no offense…it’s just too cold). However, as with Psalm 18 and all the reminders of all the ways God has saved Israel and David time and again–especially when they, too, whined…like for say 40 years in the desert or on the banks of the Red Sea surrounded by the Egyptian army–“Red Sea Rule #1” is so true: God has placed us here or allowed us to be here, and just as He brought us in, He WILL bring us out, turning that darkness into light. PTL.

Have a blessed day and week, thankyou thankyou thankyou for your incredible support, prayers, and love, and press on!

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,

Hannah