Yesterday felt significant; Chris’s port was removed! Chris’s sister jokingly exclaimed “Goodbye Porticus!”
The port was a medical implant in his upper chest, it provided direct access for the chemotherapy to enter his body and protected the veins in his arms from repeated use (and abuse).
When the port was implanted on June 2nd, we were in a season of unknowns and questions, with much uncertainty.
Now that the port has been removed, 5 months later we still have unknowns, different questions, and yes there is still uncertainty.
In a day and age where we try to eliminate unknowns, answer every question, and control uncertainty, these still remain.
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:12-13
In the midst of the unknowns, questions, and uncertainty we can only catch glimpses of what the Lord is doing. Though while we wait we can stand rooted in our faith in Jesus, the hope of His promises, and held by His unfailing love.
May we together reflect His love to a world full of unknowns, questions and uncertainty.
Do you remember that post about the kids and snow? Well, they got their snow and Halloween too all in one evening, and they did exactly what they had intended. They shoveled all the yard snow, mixed with leaves, to make a snow fort. It didn’t matter that the fort was small or that it would melt the next day – heaven provided enough snow in the moment to stir in them imagination and sibling team work that outlasted the discomfort of cold fingers and faces. Joy!
And sometimes that mirror seems pretty dark…I’m so thankful that our God has provided those occasional glimpses of His handiwork in/through/for all of you. May these remaining weeks until your return to Thailand hold many more such peeks!
Oh golly! So much good news! And so much fun! Glad the kids got a bit of snow — hopefully more before you leave! Much love to you all!
Bye Bye Porticus!! Will savor our precious time together. Love you all
Dawn & Doug
I jubilate with you, dear Chris and Rebecca and the kids. I hope you kept the porticus as a reminder of hard and still blessed times.
Praise God! That is truly progress. Back in May, it was so easy to quote Proverbs 3: 5,6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Easy to say.
Now, here we are 5 months later and see how the Lord fulfilled that verse. Our faith, your faith, may have been weak or it may have been resolute, but in any case, we had to do the hard thing first: “Trust.” Now, we can look back and see that He is a trustworthy God. Regardless of our circumstances, the highs and the lows, we grow in faith when we put ourselves into His hands and let Him be Lord.
I’m writing this for myself, too, Chris. My faith is not always up to the task. I fail often to trust the Lord. But your progress is a testimony to me to remember journeys like yours, because I am able to ride along with you and claim victory, too.
Thank you for being an open book.
I love that snow story. MKs are so fun! They know how to create play and do it together.
Rejoicing with you in the Lord’s goodness and trusting Him for all your tomorrows. 🙏🙏
Wonderful News
Glad the kids got to experience Halloween (their outfits showed off their incredible creativity) and especially they had snow!
So many of Gods Blessings have surrounded you all on this journey
Continued Prayers
Genesis 22:12-14
He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
He has, He is, He will. Like Paul, Chris and I are people who love and trust the Lord; we believe in His promises. Yet we have to pray, “help thou my unbelief.”.
We are rejoicing in the clear hope given to each of you, and even for the snow (Colin Fenton in Saugatuck wasn’t as happy!). Still, we continue to pray. And praise Him.
Some goodbyes are not sad and this is one of them!
Each step is encouraging and faith steps in order to take the next one.
Praying
Such good news! From the port removed to snow! 🙂 I get it on both counts!
Praising God with you!
Karen
Good news on the port being removed, and I love that the kids got to shovel snow off the lawn! 🙂 Also happy to hear about your planned return to Thailand in December. May these next few months be a time of continued blessing and fruitful preparation on many levels.
Such joy…and good reminders…in this report!
What a wonderful post!
Just left Chiang Mai and missed having time with you. What a lovely place it is.
Such great news about Chris’ progress and loved the news about the snow fort the kids make. Thank you for sharing your lives with us.
Terry and Estrelia Gibbs
So thankful for the experiences you shared here.
So happy that Chris was able to have his port removed. That is a milestone that places him one more step on the road of recuperation. Thank you for sharing these ordinary and not-so-ordinary joys and moments in your journey. May God continue to send healing, strength, and recovery to you all.
Another milestone in the healing journey! Another milestone in the M! Seasons with record snow on Halloween! God is good! Praying on for you all! Praying for the upcoming transitions!
Thank you for these updates (and photos!) dear friends. Your faith inspires mine. I will continue to pray for strength for you all (physical, emotional, spiritual). I hope that you will be able to return together to Thailand in December. Do you know of the series The Chosen by Dallas Jenkins? It has blessed me SO MUCH. I hope you’ve discovered it and enjoy it too.