The Long Game
(Note: This was originally published on May 24, 2022 as a Moment Of Joy on The JOY FM website.)
Today is day #1,924. The first day was February 15, 2017. That’s the day that Teri, my wife, received a diagnosis of breast cancer.
On June 13, 2022, which will be day #1,944, Teri will finish her five years of daily medication, which followed her radiation treatment and surgery and helped ensure her cancer did not return.
It’s been a long journey. One that, over the past few years, we almost forgot we were on. Until, that is, it was time to swallow that pill.
During those five plus years, we have said good-bye to loved ones who went on ahead to glory. Watched our own children deal with a variety of trials and struggles, our grandsons grow and flourish.
Through every one of those nearly 2,000 days one thing has remained constant. Our help and our hope come from God. From our lowest valley to our most joyous mountaintop, God is there to provide help for the moment and hope for the future.
We prayed. A lot. And we turned to the Bible for comfort and hope. Time and again we found ourselves in the book of Psalms. Psalm 146 became a favorite of mine. In it the psalmist assures us that God keeps faith forever. He provides justice for the oppressed, food for the hungry, freedom for the prisoner and sight for the blind. He raises up those who are bowed down, loves the righteous, protects the stranger and supports the fatherless and the widow.
The creator of Heaven and earth and all that is in them loves us and never leaves us. In this, we find true joy.
