Prayer Requests

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." ~Philippians 4:6

Many of you who are keeping up with what's happening in our lives have mentioned that you are praying for us.  Let me tell you, we appreciate it so much!  You can never have enough prayer!  However, when I was back this past weekend, some people asked for more specific things to pray for.  I've been doing some thinking about this, and these are what I've come up with:

• Pray for my husband.  More specifically, pray that God will grant him the emotional and physical stamina to endure what we're about to go through.  He'll have a reprise from his schooling for the month of August, but come September, he will have a full load (I believe 5 classes).  Pray that he will be able to efficiently study and retain what he is learning.  Pray that his heart doesn't become heavy and discouraged when we go through rough times with treatment, and pray that we will not close each other out.
• Pray for my Iowa family.  We're now separated by about 650 miles, so when things go wrong, it's really likely to stress my mom out.  Both of my parents watched my uncle lose a battle with Multiple Diffuse Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and although my case looks pretty good, some things are likely to give them flashbacks which could be painful.  Please pray for peace for them, that they will cling to each other, and find comfort together in trusting God's plan.  Pray that my experience will help my brother see life differently and that God will use this to draw him in.  He's a little lost right now.  Pray for my sister, that she won't get overlooked in the chaos, and that her walk with God will continue to be strengthened during this time and she'll continue to discover what love from Him really feels/looks like.
• Pray that chemotherapy will be all I need.  We're so grateful to have caught this early on.  It means a lot of good things.  However, the doctors have mentioned they might want to do radiation to finish things off.  This means a higher chance of developing lung cancer, an increased chance of other secondary cancers, increased chances of heart problems, and hypothyroidism.  In addition, if the chemo fails (which they do not suspect it will, but it is a possibility) it's likely I'd need to undergo a stem cell transplant.  That said, both of those things would be a bummer...
• Pray that I will learn to recognize when things aren't right.  I'm observant when it comes to hair colors and makeup, but I am pretty bad at recognizing when my body is telling me something is wrong. I often justify it and I'm learning now that this is NOT going to be okay.  Pray that I will be in tune with what is going on and that when things are going wrong, I will recognize them and speak up, rather than assuming it is nothing and that it will go away on its own.
• Pray that we will continue to be fed spiritually.  We're not quite sure how this is going to look at this point.  For the moment, we plan to keep attending church.  However, with a crowd that large, there are bound to be lots of bacteria and viruses and that is something the doctor would like us to avoid, so we will probably discontinue physically going at some point.  If I get sick, they will need to hospitalize me and there is a good chance it would delay my chemotherapy as well--something they really don't like to do, as it lessens the effectiveness of the treatment.  It's something we'll need prayer about.  Thank goodness for online media players and live streaming!!

Along with the prayers are some of the many praises that you could thank God for with us:

• Praise God for my husband.  Thank God that I married him!  It was the best day of my life!  Moving here has been teaching me a lot about what it is like to be a good wife and what it is like to be looked after by a magnificent, Godly man!  Thank God for Isaac's interest and connections in medicine, and for his attentiveness, which has recognized things that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.  Thank God for his leadership, his patience, and his gentleness thus far!  I'm thankful also that he is a good communicator, not allowing me to shut down when I am discouraged or frustrated.  (That also comes in handy when my mom calls and wants to know what's going on.)
• Praise God for the unraveling of the story so far.  So far as cancers go, I'm told again and again, this is the best one to get.  Concerning insurance, I've been blessed with my husband and mother discovering loophole after loophole.  This is saving us a TON of money!  Thank God that I hadn't been able to find work yet--because if I had, I'd need to quit.  Praise Him that we found it early and that I am symptom-free!  Thank Him that we are young enough to not have to worry about infertility from treatment.  (I'm also telling him that I'm thankful I finally had a good excuse to shave my head!)
• Thank Him for the encouraging people around us.  Granted, they might not be next door, but I've had several people reach out to me who have had cancer and encourage me through Facebook, email, etc.. as well as a large number who haven't had cancer.  We've been sent thoughtful words, jokes, smiles, and good conversation from a number of friends and family and we are SO incredibly appreciative!!
• Thank Him for good medicine.  I never thought I'd say it, but I am so thankful for yes--medicine!  I'm thankful for medicine that, although it will make me hairless, will kill my cancer cells.  I'm thankful for antibiotics that are currently killing my ear infection.  I know that soon I will be thankful for anti-nausea medicine during chemotherapy. I'm also thankful for thoughtful doctors who have been trained to recognize and identify problems and who know the appropriate medicines to administer/prescribe!