FRIENDS' JOURNEY

Today, I am saddened about the journey of some friends of mine. I have a friend in her late 50s that has multiple sclerosis. She has been in a wheelchair for over 20 years. She has a wonderful husband who is a pastor and a lovely daughter who is 23 years old. For the last few years my daughter and I have stayed with her sometimes whenever her hubby goes out of town, which is not very frequently. Often as not, he will take her with him so that she, too, can have a change of scenery. Being confined to the wheelchair does not give her a lot of freedom to come and go. She loves to go shopping and out to lunch like all "girls" do, but unless someone takes her she can't. She never complains and stays at home. I try to get over there once in a while to check up on her. She stays home by herself during the day while her husband is at work.

My daughter and I stayed with her in May of this year for two nights while her husband went to a mission board meeting. I had not stayed for a while so, when he told me that there was some changes in her condition, I wasn't totally surprised, but yet, it seems that it was still somewhat of a shock. She couldn't get the toothpaste on her toothbrush. She couldn't get her right hand/arm up over the edge of the sink to wash her hands. She had trouble getting her food onto her spoon and fork. She was more forgetful than I remembered. I was really saddened by this as she has been a wonderful friend and we really have a good time when we have our"slumber parties" as I call them when I stay over at her house. We joke and laugh about all the things that we have to do for her when I come. Sometimes it takes two of us to dress her in the day or get her ready for bed at night. All that her husband usually does all by himself. Plus he feeds her, makes sure she gets her meds at the right time, does the laundry, gets the dinner ready as well as lunch (although people from church take them meals that can last for two days twice a week), does the grocery shopping, runs all the errands in addition to working anywhere from 50-60 hours a week. He is an associate pastor and is in charge of administration of the church finances, etc. The church is right in the middle of a huge multi-million dollar building project for which he is ultimately responsible.

A couple of years ago, he had to have some surgery caused by lifting her to get her to the bathroom. After the surgery, he had some problems with his bloodwork, low hemoglobin, a platelet problem that they have been monitoring for several years. He had to have a bone marrow biopsy at that time and it was discovered that he could develop a severe form of leukemia. To make a long story short, he was ill a couple of weeks ago and had bronchitis. He made an appointment with the hematologists at that time for a blood work-up and when they took him in they kept him for 8 hours at the hospital to do another bone marrow biopsy. He had to have some blood transfusions and they gave him a platelet transfusion. Needless to say, that he could not do any lifting or many of the things that he usually does for his beloved wife.

He got the results of the bone marrow biopsy back the following day and was told that he now has developed leukemia. He had done research on this type of leukemia when he had the first biopsy done and found that there is only a 5-10% success rate with a bone marrow transplant or with chemotherapy. I have another friend who says that chemo is like taking the patient to the point of death and stopping just before. He agreed and has decided not to have any treatment. The only thing that we can do is pray for remission.

I talked to him today after church, actually I talked to all of them. I told them that the sermon was meant for them and they agreed.

We had a great sermon about Elijah and the prophets of Baal from 1 Kings 18. Elijah was outnumbered. He had been "in training" in the desert during the drought for about three years. He had been hiding from King Ahab and when his training period was over, God told him to make himself known to Ahab. Ahab had been searching for him for years but could never find him. Ahab called him the "troubler" or literally the snake in the grass. Elijah says, "It's not me that troubles Israel, but you with your house who have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed Baal."

So Elijah challenges Ahab to decide once and for all who is the one true God, and Ahab and the people of Israel agree. So 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah sacrifice an ox and ask their gods to set it on fire. They dance and chant and leap about for hours. Nothing happens. Elijah who is very confident, not in himself, but in God alone, asks the people of Israel to come near so they can pay attention. He wants to make sure that they do not miss the blessing. He wants them on the front row seat so that when God speaks they will not miss a thing.

He rebuilds a broken altar of the LORD for his sacrifice, just the way God had commanded. He made a trench around the altar and laid his sacrifice of ox upon the wood. Then he had watered poured on the wood. Not just a little bit of water, but huge amounts of water. Three times the altar and sacrifice were drenched until the trench around the altar was full of water. Then Elijah cries out to the LORD God. It did not take hour upon hour to chant, leap, and jump about. HE prayed a very simple prayer to the effect that "God you know I have done as you have commanded. I have taken you at your word. Answer me Lord, that these people will know once and for all that YOU and YOU alone are the one true God." And then the LORD God, sent fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice and it was so hot that it evaporated every drop of water. Verse 39 says, When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, 'The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.'

Elijah had great faith and trust in the LORD God. Elijah was all alone, but it is not the size of the group that counst but the size of God!! There is no problem or situation that occurs in our lives that is bigger than God. We can't let circumstances control our outlook. He will "strongly support those whose heart is completely His." (2 Chronicles 16:9) I know that Bill's and Lynn's hearts are completely His. God can work in impossible situations. And He will work in this situation with Bill and Lynn for His greatest Glory.


Please pray for Bill and Lynn and Katie. They have a long road ahead.