The First Day of Chemo

Jared has just about completed his first full day of chemo treatment. They started him at 12:20 yesterday afternoon-- a little later than expected, but in God's perfect timing, no doubt. He is doing really well taking in the drugs and bravely facing new pain. I think the most painful part of this process to him thus far has been the beeping noises around the hospital, or at least that's what he has vocalized at this point. 

Last night my family was blessed to actually enjoy our hospital stay a good deal. Meals were provided to all the families on our floor last night, which is an amazing thing to take in! During the dinner hour an old friend of ours, who found himself on this same floor of Children's just 26 months ago with his own son, came to visit. It was incredible to hear the stories of their fight against cancer and all the friendships God was able to build during their time here. It astounds me how God orchestrates our lives. 

We have not been able to keep in touch with the Alfriends since we knew them well about 13 years ago. Now, we have reconnected with them through multiple different things. Jared re-met one of their sons while he was on a tour of Miami just last year, and we heard about Tyler's cancer through the woman with whom I share my classroom. Her daughter, Kylie, who Jared and I have gotten to know through our mutual involvement in Campus Crusade at Miami, had grown up with the Alfriends and was diagnosed with her own cancer the same day as Tyler. The Alfriends and the Bornhorsts battled cancer down the hall from each other just a few years ago. They beat it, and now they are back at Children's, walking alongside us as we face Jared's. What a blessing these friends are to our family!

We were also able to spend some time with some other friends who will be on the same rotation as Jared. Meghan is a 21 year old synchronized  swimmer on the US Olympic team who was given the exact same diagnosis as Jared about three weeks prior to his own. Through mutual friends connecting them, Jared and Meghan were able to meet up before chemo started and discuss their diagnosis and how the Lord is leading them through it. Last night, spending some time with Meghan, her mom, and her friend Michelle, the world seemed to be a bit cheerier and the hospital felt less sterile and more like a second home. 

Every time another visitor, particularly those like Meghan or the Alfriends, Cannones, or others who have been through what he's going through now, come to visit, you can see the relief on Jared's face. He listens to his ipod a lot, taking in words of encouragement through songs, but there is nothing better than the physical representation of God's care for him and support of his needs through the friends that walk through his door. 

We know that the battle is just beginning, but we're ready to "fight to win," as Tyler's slogan says. We don't want to win for ourselves or even Jared's future, but to win for Christ. It is He who gives us the breath to sustain everyday. So, no matter what life brings, we will cry out to Him in pain and sing praises to Him in joy, for He is the giver or all things. 

I have been reflecting recently on journals from past years and found this quotation written in my journal from when I was reading the bookA Path Through Suffering by Elisabeth Elliot my junior year of college:

"A cup brimful of sweetness cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, no matter how suddenly jarred."

The quotation was originally written by Amy Carmichael who was a missionary in the remotest part of India in the early 1900s. She spent the first few years of her ministry there caring for the people of India and sharing the gospel with them. However, the majority of her time there was spent in her small home, writing books and taking in visitor. She was ill and bedridden for years, but she refused to move home to get well. She wanted to stay and serve among the people as she wrote books of her suffering-- and joy in suffering-- that made it home to the comfortable homes of Europe. 

No matter what life throws at us, if we are already filled with the Joy of the Lord, it is impossible to pour out on the world the bitterness and grief that is expected in these circumstances.  

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. They are appreciated more than you could possibly imagine!