Health report with a lesson

It has been a while since I have reported on my health. I am currently in remission and on maintenance therapy. In the mornings, it takes me a little time to get going and I start my day with a handful of medications. In the evenings, I am worn out, but I am proud to report that I have been able to get off almost all my pain medications. Most of the day I feel normal. I don’t feel like I am sick at all; I don’t have the strength I once had or the stamina. I do have some upcoming treatments and procedures that may knock me down, but all in all, I am doing great. As I considered what to write in this blog post, I was reminded of the parallels between cancer and sin. Cancer eats away at your health and your life. Sin eats away at your soul and life. Cancer affects every part of your life. Sin affects every aspect of your life. Getting rid of cancer (getting it under control), was uncomfortable and at times extremely painful. Likewise, getting rid of sin is often uncomfortable and, at times, extremely painful. For me, maintenance is required to keep the cancer at bay. Likewise, maintenance is necessary to keep sin at bay in my life. I am blessed to have so many people supporting me in this journey. It would be easy for me to become complacent and lax. If I do that, I might find myself in a worse situation than the one I have seen. Maintenance and constant vigilance are essential to my health. In my spiritual walk, complacency is also the enemy. Maintenance (prayer, study) and vigilance are critical to my spiritual health. If I stop leaning into God, I will end up in a worse situation than the ones I have escaped. The healing of God is remarkable. I don’t remember very much of last summer. I remember moments, but much of the pain has been washed from my mind. That washing is a blessing and a danger. The danger is that I won’t think it was so bad. The blessing is that the memory of pain is gone, and God has replaced that pain with hope in the present and goals for the future. When God forgives us, he heals us. Over time, those pains caused by our sins can be healed, and the pain of sin washed from us. That is a blessing. The danger is this; if we forget the pain, we can be tempted to return to our sin. When times are good, it is easy to believe we can handle sin. But the only way to handle sin is to run from it. The only way to have the strength of character to run from sin is to participate in maintenance. Worship, prayer, study, and Christian relationships are your best defense against the cancer of sin. Remind yourself of what God has seen you through; remember what God has already done in your life, and you will be brought to your knees in worship. In Him J. Tom Washburn

The most beautiful flowers often grow in the cracks.

Some of the most beautiful flowers and trees have been those that grew out of a crack in a rock or a crevasse on the side of a cliff. I don’t know if I thought they were beautiful on their own or if I thought they were beautiful because of the place where they were found. But there is no denying that their beauty impacted me because it stood in contrast to the harsh reality of its’ surroundings. God often reveals His presence and beauty when times seem harsh and foreboding. A friend, holding you when it appears that nobody cares. A child, giving a hug just because you came near. A gift at just the right time when you were filled with despair. A pat on the back when you thought nobody was watching. I have seen an even more extraordinary beauty, and this is one of the greatest wonders I have ever beheld, a life that has been broken so often that there are more flaws than you can count, returning to God. The beauty in that picture is a reminder of what God can do. God can take the most broken life you have ever seen and transform it into one that glorifies Him, and if God can do that with the utterly broken, what does He want to do with your life today? In Him J. Tom Washburn