Precious Letters

I have been receiving many wonderful notes and cards from many people in many places.

Today, I had the priviledge of reading notes from the ladies in my Bible Study class.

It has been one of the biggest struggles for me (among others) to cope with the conflict of chemo and Bible Study.

God placed a special Bible Study, Captivating, based on the book by John and Stasi Eldredge, on my heart several years ago. It was not until this fall that the opportunity arose to lead it. Probably the only "why" question I have asked thus far into this journey is, "Why did you pick this time, God, for me to lead this wonderful study, AND ME NOT BE THERE?" (My chemo has been scheduled on Thursdays for three of the ten weeks, so far. The same day we meet for study.)

Well, I think the answer came a little bit in the precious letters I received from my Bible Study sisters. God wants me to know as much love and support as I possibly can. And it came in big quantities today.

Thank you, my precious sisters in Christ. Some of you I have known for years. Some of you I have known only a short time. And some of you I have just met. But your words (and the great Chris Tomlin CD - Thanks, Karen!) are encouragement to me from the throne of God.

I look forward to spending as many weeks with you as I can. And learning what it means to be "Cherished".

And I was especially blessed with the reminder of a verse that our great retreat leader, Sarah Beebe, shared with us last year at our first Ladies' Retreat:

The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Did you know, my dear friend, that at the same time I heard this verse at the retreat, God said, "This is your baby's verse." Just weeks before we found out he was dying. But I can tell you that when we think we have lost, God has SAVED. We here on earth cannot truly fathom what that means, until we see the Lord in heaven.

And I know now that God is with me. He is mighty to save me. I believe saving in this instance means life and not death. And He will have the glory.