“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Jesus)

Today is the day after my lung biopsy was taken and we awoke to a beautiful sunny day, another day of God’s Grace. Our devotion for today was on Matthew 11: 29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." 
                                                                                                                                                                      
Our yokes are custom designed and made to fit each individual. God knows what we can carry and will never ask us to carry more than we can handle.  We know that God is carrying us as we are enrolled as students in God’s School, we learn of Him. Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. “ It is a great comfort to know that God keeps His eye on us, He never slumbers or sleeps.

I had planned to write last night but was unable to do so. I was amazed how this procedure took the wind out of my sails. The procedure that was done is called, Needle Biopsy of the lung, as I laid on my stomach the doctor inserted a long hollow needle through my back and into the lung aided by the CT scanner to reach the tumour. The doctor was successful in taking tissue samples, we now have to wait for about a week to get the results on what kind of cancer it is and at what stage it has progressed.

As I laid there waiting for my procedure I could not help but stand in awe of God’s creation. He created us in His image, so complex and detailed that it takes many very complex machines and highly educated doctors to figure out our human bodies, and even then, the human race is often stumped at the complexity of Creation. We serve a Great God.

Thanking you for continued prayers

John

He leads me beside still waters.

Many people have asked what is happening, are you getting surgery? 

The answer is, no not yet. I have a tentative date for surgery of April 11, but before surgery other procedures have to be done. On Friday March 25, I hope to receive a lung biopsy at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

On April 4, I will be undergoing a lung capacity test. I hope to get a call any day from Vancouver General Hospital to get my PET scan. The  scan will determine if I will get surgery or not, this really depends if the cancer has spread to other organs.                                                                       

Henrietta and I had a good week, I went to work every day and I still feel good, eat and sleep well. The Lord is good, He has given us quiet hearts. As I wrote earlier the seas around me were tumultuous at times but that is no longer the case. Indeed God is leading us on quiet waters, Jesus is the Helmsman of our ship.

We continue to covet your prayers and thank all those who have sent cards, emails, called or visited us. Your care and friendship is much appreciated. The blog will be updated again when I receive more news.

John

The Gospel in 6 Minutes by John Piper

..........but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:7

We got up early today to make our 8 am appointment at the kidney specialist in Surrey.

We had a good and informative talk with the doctor,  however we were somewhat disappointed with the information. The doctor informed us that the decision to remove the cancerous kidney is not made until the PET scan results are known later this month.

He also informed us that this cancerous tumour started at least two years ago. This is hard to believe since I still do not have any discomfort or pain. He also talked about my liver, only a PET scan will reveal if there is cancer present or not. In short, he did not sound that positive, or maybe we just were listening for more positive news that did not come.

The waiting is difficult, the different opinions makes life feel like a rollercoaster.

As I write this, the passage comes to mind where Jesus calms the storm in Matthew 8

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." 26 And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marvelled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"

At times it feels as if I am in this ship with Jesus asleep, having the same feelings as the disciples had during the storm. I know that Jesus is not sleeping during this storm, yet my heart sometimes cries the same cry as the disciples.

Last Sunday I was much comforted by Psalm 20, especially verse 7. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

We are praying that our trust be only in Jesus.

Thank you for your prayers and may God bless you richly.

John

Our Hope

Our only hope is found in the Solid Rock, Jesus Christ. 

Friday we visited the Lung Specialist in Surrey; it was a relief to get a little bit more information.  The results were already available from the CT Scan taken on Wednesday , for which we are very thankful, this normally takes one week. 

The second CT Scan revealed that John has a large tumour on the left kidney (the tumour is twice the size of the kidney), the right kidney is healthy. The left lung has a tumour but the right lung is healthy and the adrenal gland is enlarged.  The liver has spots on it but appear to be benign.  The concern is the kidney at this point and determining if the cancer started in the kidney.  It  appears that the surgeon will remove the affected kidney quite soon.

The Lord is indeed doing marvellous things. While traveling home from the Lung  Specialist in Surrey we received a call from the Kidney Specialist to see him for a visit and further diagnosis on March 15. We hope to update our blog after this visit.

The prognosis still is serious but our Heavenly Father has carried us through this in such a remarkable way having peace to rest in His will and taking one day at a time.  As we left the doctor’s office I was singing in my heart “My Hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Blood and Righteousness.”  Oh how sweet it is to trust in Jesus.  We covet your prayers for our needs and we are thankful for all of your prayers, the Lord is hearing them all.

Henrietta

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Refrain
On Christ the solid rock I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

When Darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace.
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found!
Dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne.

His oath, his covenant, his blood
supports me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay.

Our journey

Today is March 5, 2010, the day that our niece Marisha and Tom are getting married. We slept little during the night so we decided to get up early and go for a long walk along the Rotary Trail beside the Chilliwack River. It is a beautiful spring day with the warm sunrays awakening creation. A light fog hangs among the trees on the mountain across the river, the birds are out in full force and sing to God’s glory. Crystal clear river water is making its way to the ocean.                                           

This day is so different than any other day, although creation is singing, our hearts are saddened. No one knows about the yoke that God has layed on our shoulders, and because there is a wedding in the family today we will not be sharing our grief with others, not even with our own children. As it says in Ecclesiastes 3, To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven, a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.  We do not want to overshadow the joyful day with the sad news we received yesterday.

In January the Lord provided me with a new job as director of operations for Richardson International (Abbotsford division). With the job came the requirement to have a routine medical exam done by one of the company appointed physicians.

 After several weeks I received a notice to go and see my family physician because they thought they could see an abnormality on the X-ray.

I was referred to get a CT scan and received the results last Friday, March 4.

I had prepared myself for bad news, however not to this extent.

The CT scan report says that both of my kidneys, liver and both lungs are affected by cancer.

Further testing will be done this week by CT scan and seeing a specialist on Friday March 11.

I have few words to say in regards to the impact it made on me and Henrietta.  I am sure you

can imagine.

As we walked along the river that morning we shared again our grief, but more important our blessings that we received in our 33 years of marriage, our children and grand children, Gods Grace and mercy. We spoke about the things to come, the time that we have left and most important of the hope in Christ that lies in both of us. In short, we had a blessed time by the river.

However, I must also say that the Lord has upheld us in remarkable ways. It took us the remainder of Friday to come to our senses, it appeared a dream, just not real, also for the fact that I feel good, have no pain, not tired and eat well. Sunday was a difficult day as we had to tell all the children, It was a time where many tears were shed, but again also a time where we could share our hope in Christ, and a time of prayer.

John.

Due to the huge outpouring of love, care, phone calls, emails and visits we have decided to set up a blog to keep you informed about my condition. This does not mean that you can’t email, call or visit us. This blog will really help us to keep from repeating the same story over and over. We much appreciate your prayers and friendship, cards and phone calls in these trying times.

John and Henrietta