Scans came back clear!!! So no spread to other parts of the body. I’ll talk more about that later. Here is a message from my beautiful bride:
I don’t have the words to adequately thank you all. I have been so humbled by all the love we’ve received in the last two weeks. Please know that while I may not reply often, your prayers, words of encouragement, verses, and songs have carried me through. I read and listen to them all and will reread them on hard days.
I want to share about a few special moments from the last two weeks:
The first is from last night and I really feel the need to share it. If you read Duncan’s last post, you know that I was struggling yesterday. After a morning of tests and scans, I was really fighting a lot of fear and anxiety. As the day went on it continued to get worse and started to affect me physically. Breathing felt difficult and my stomach was in pain. I was trying to focus on my breathing, spend time outside, laugh with my kids and husband, but I just continued to feel worse. Later that evening, I received several messages from different friends. They all shared what they felt God was prompting them to tell me— and it was the exact same verse and message from each of them. I told those friends I was fighting a lot of anxiety and they said they sensed that all day long and were praying for me. They continued to share truth with me and pray for my specific needs last night. And then the craziest thing happened—my breathing became easy and went back to normal and my stomach pain went away. I felt completely at peace.
I don’t know what the rest of this day holds or what the future holds, but last night reminded me that God is with me in each moment. He is with us. He hears us. He cares for us.
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I’ve been wanting to see a rainbow for quite awhile. Every time I thought there would be one, I would go outside and look. The last time I remember doing this, I was really disappointed when there wasn’t one. I’m not even sure why this meant so much to me and I know this sounds silly, but I was desperately wanting to see a rainbow, so I prayed that God would show me one soon.
During “Hell Week”, as Duncan calls it, we saw TWO. I cried both times because it meant so much to me. My friend Laura sent me a picture of the same rainbow and said, “I’m praying you feel God as promise keeper today and that He shows himself to you more each day.”
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Another special moment that happened during “Hell Week”: On the day I was diagnosed with breast cancer, we were all crying A LOT. I’ve never cried so much or as intensely in my life. At one point I was praying and just being really honest with the Lord. I said, “God I know that you love me. But I really don’t feel loved at all right now. Would you remind me of your love for me?”
I checked my phone and had 24 messages saying things like
“You are loved.”
“You are so loved”
“We love you!”
“We’re praying for you. You are so deeply loved.”
If I wasn’t already crying, this triggered all the tears. But my favorite was when James (4 years old) randomly came and whispered in my ear, “God loves you.” He’s done that several times without being prompted and I just thank the Lord every time.
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Another special moment happened this week. My college friend and teammate, Jamie, knows a lot about suffering—her almost 2 year old daughter passed away unexpectedly several years ago. She’s taught me so much about trusting the Lord through her journey. When she invited us to her farm to pick wild flowers, make us dinner, and take family pictures I jumped at the opportunity. Being around someone who has lived through my worst nightmare but is using her story to point people to Jesus was so encouraging to my soul. Even with crying kids, this was such a peaceful experience for me.
Okay last one for today since this is getting long. :) This last image is one I will never forget. Last Sunday, several friends met to pray for me and my family. I honestly don’t have words to describe what this means to me, so I’ll just share the picture and let it do the talking.
You all are so precious to me. Thank you for walking this journey with us.
-Elizabeth