Tests, Rest, and Blessed
Psalm 34:1-22
Hello, family and friends. We hope all is well with you. We are doing good, resting in the arms of the Lord. I am still in and out of the doctors’ offices and still in a lot of pain—but no more scary ambulance rides.
The hospital experiences have been the best! Then we go home to rest.
I will be talking to some doctors this coming Tuesday, May 7, and will see what's next as far as the next steps for the cancer. The Lord’s peace and comfort have been with us, and we (Haviylah and I) are getting to spend much time together. Have settled into a much slower routine until we see how this will play out.
This is truly a reminder of how to walk through the storms of life....
Thank you for your constant prayers and fervent love; the peace is amazing, just like the Grace accompanying it. His love is constant and ever-present.
Hanging on the wall at UNC Rex hospital.
Yiskah has put us first in all things despite the troubles she is going through. The children always ask what they can do for us and see to all our various needs. We have been greatly humbled by their sacrificial love.
Being fussed over so much is a little difficult, not just by Yiskah and her family but by the Lord Himself! Aside from the ever-present physical pains and the difficult uncomfortableness of the Carcinoma in my throat, my mind and spirit seem to be doing great.
Lately, my heart (the combination of mind and spirit) has been dwelling on the 34th Psalm of David …all of it. I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him And saved him from all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him And delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger, But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Who is the man who desires life And loves many days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those with a broken heart And saves such as a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. Psalm 34
Surely, I am the man for whom the psalm was written. Every verse describes the incredible love that I have experienced when I leave behind all of my self-concerns to the Lord. Throughout my adulthood, I would worry (churn) over so many unnecessary concerns heaped upon all of us by cultural expectations.
Like …Do Haviylah and I have enough medical insurance for our approaching old age? Were we being foolish to spend money on the poor and not a ‘retirement fund’? For us, it wasn’t a matter of which one. It was one or the other. Are we just … ‘leaving it to others to care for us?’ But for the most part, it comes down to hearing and obeying, and that has been much simpler living in Kenya.
The decisions for the last 12 years have been relatively easy to make. When someone approaches you with a dying child needing one hundred dollars to continue to live that week … a child who is hungry....or a teenager who will lose her life if her leg is not amputated in two days, as she will die of gangrene, or … the host of other urgent circumstances we face every week. Rare are the times when we feel the Spirit say … trust me in the future for this person’s life today when I possess the means to save it now. Yet, I would add … that occasionally does happen … just not often.
May our loving Father and His beloved Son bless you with His presence. Much love from Cynthia and me.
