Small intestine, big lessons

At first, we weren't sure if we "should" even share about this week's hospitalization. On Monday morning we thought, "Maybe this hospitalization will be so short, we'll just not have to tell people about it!!" Chester was feeling so much stronger last week and was planning to both hike and preach this week. (Both plans looking very unlikely, although Toby and Pastor Klug have Youth and church service covered.) It seems like such a random medical detour to deal with intestinal blockage from surgical scar tissue. We (and I'm sure you, dear reader) had already firmly shifted our focus to the longer journey of healing from cancer!

But this week has taught us not to take any time of healing for granted. It's also taught us that there are surprises along the way we might not know to expect.

After all, on Sunday morning, Chester looked fine. Just look at him in this screenshot!

Here's the full sermon if you want to see how great he looked while he preached on Matthew 6, the section where Jesus started by saying, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear" https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18JyUfjHrf/

Chester was "preaching to himself" the message of "Do not worry," as well as applying the promises of God to everyone in the room. He knew something was off internally that morning, but as the day went on, he followed his surgeon's orders to go to the emergency room as he was feeling pain and nausea. Waiting at the ER, he knew he'd made the right call to be at the hospital, as the pain continued and worsened. A CT scan showed a twist and blockage in his small intestine, caused by scar tissue from surgery.

It's a few days later, and he hasn't had anything to eat or drink since Sunday morning (he has an IV for hydration). He is being monitored at Rockyview. The most likely outcome is that the small intestine will "resolve" or sort itself out with out any intervention other than rest and walking. Thank God. Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear." Chester's wearing a hospital gown, sustained by an IV. We'd prefer his clothing and food to be different! But, we have faith in God's promises and care, and we have peace (only) when we rely on Him one day at a time. Psalm 138:8, which Pastor Schultz shared with me at the hospital says, "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands." Chester is the work of God's hands, is loved by the Lord with an unending love, and God's purpose for Chester's life will be fulfilled. We don't know the plan, but we know that because God loved us enough to give us Jesus, the plan is good. This week has also brought us to meditate on this verse, via this devotion: We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. This setback felt crushing at times, considering the bigger picture since July. We don't claim to endure pain or hospitalizations or lonely parenting with our own strength - we are being asked daily to rely on God's strength. Ultimately, we look with hope for the power God has not only to give us strength temporarily, but eternally. I pray that as you hear this update that seemed initially unnecessary to us in some ways, you are not worried.

As I joked with one of Chester's now-familiar unit nurses, "WHY ARE YOU HERE?" is the most existentially dramatic and hillarious question she could have asked me. We don't know "why" but that's ok.

I pray that your prayer life, your reliance on God's power and your praise for His plans that are "beyond tracing out" (Doxology from Romans 11) would bring you peace and joy. In the coming weeks I hope we can encourage each other with this: "We [do] not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." If God has the power to do that, what is there to worry about? Edit Sept 17: Chester is home now, off IV and meds and carefully working towards a normal diet again. Still feeling some after effects of several days of inflammation but on the mend from this episode.