Hello! Hello! No, we haven't gone on some tropical vacation to a far away land...we're still here and doing well. I had the last treatment in this first cycle on Friday. Now I have this coming Friday off and am looking forward to it. These are long days in Madison and we spend them waiting...waiting for the lab work to come back, waiting for the drug to be mixed, waiting, waiting, and more waiting. Trying to find rest and patience in the waiting is a challenge. We are going to do the preliminary lab work, from now on, here in Rockford. At least that leg of the day will be shortened. That should help some. I just feel bad for Don having to wait. He is a "do-er" and would like to be up and about, looking around and visiting with folks. It's gotten to the point that in his searching he has found an electronic scale that he now weighs himself on when we go. Oh, boy. That took 5 minutes. Now what? Well, he went down to the cafeteria to "look around" and came back with cookies, chocolate milk, and a mini-sub sandwich. (Wonder how that will work with the scale thing?) He's content to wait, a joy to be with, and quite the comfort...but the waiting gets exhausting for him and that bothers me.

Fight. We here that a lot along this cancer journey. Fight. Yes, and it can be a good thing, too. In times gone by, we have encouraged others along in their "fights" with cancer..."keep fighting", "keep up the fight", "press on" - same thing? And now we are encouraged with those same words from you dear loved ones. Fight. It's a biblical principal, too, isn't it? Nehemiah records for us that when opposition to the rebuilding of the walls arose, he encouraged the people working that "Our God will fight for us!" (Nehemiah 4:20) I want to be on that team!! Fight. Paul writes quite a little about "fight". 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 records for us that he does not "fight like a man beating the air." No, he tells us to run in such a way as to get the prize. He fights as a man who will win! Three different times within the books of 1 and 2 Timothy, Paul encourages Timothy (and us!) to fight the good fight. Keep the faith. Win the race. Fight.

And fighting I am. One of the things I fight is the pure selfishness of this disease. And I bring this to you now as a prayer request. My life has been so me-focused since March that I find it very discouraging at times. I know that some of that must be...I know that, but we - Don & I - don't want to be inward-focused people. Never. I'm concerned I will just become so self-centered and "all about me" in conversations and life itself. This cancer is just huge and seems to get the better of my attention and thoughts most days. So I pray, constantly, that God will continue to "open the eyes of my heart" to the needs and concerns of those I come in contact with. That this cancer and the threat of oppression from it will NOT be the focus of my life - but the joy of living in the love and grace of our Lord would loom larger than life itself. A big task for sure. Fight. I will fight hard. Keep the devil and his discouragement away, dear Lord!

Please know that I share this, not looking for sympathy or an "it's OK", but as a way to let you see some of the struggles that we face in our fight these days. Yes, I know that we smile a lot, we are certainly blessed by the words, hugs, tears, and "arms around our shoulders" of you all and I don't want you to think for a moment that we have a perpetual "Pollyanna" attitude. We do not - there is discouragement along the way. And there are things that threaten to drag us down. I share those with you now. It's not all about beating the disease, it's about doing so in a way that we win the prize!! That prize of eternal life with our God and Savior.

Thanks for listening once again!
Love,
Don & Deb