Thank you everyone for the prayers and texts for the vaccine appointment yesterday. I successful received Dose 1 of 6, with no hiccups thus far!
I was reading in Exodus this morning, and it struck me, Moses's instructions to the Israelites right after they were freed from slavery.
"Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery ... (13 vs 3)... You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ (13 vs 8)
Sometimes I hesitate to stop and remember and be thankful... Partially because I (very honestly) don't know how my story will end. I am scared to be thankful because what if cancer returns? What if I do die from this disease?
But in reading this morning, I just thought about ALL that the Israelites were about to go through ... Disobedience, judgment, God's mercy in the form of manna. Moses -- and that whole generation -- not being able to enter the promise land. A mix of continued hardship and unspeakable saving.
As Jonathan and I have wrestled with these thoughts of praise amidst an unknown future, we have continued to pray for trust. -- Or "strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow" as Jonathan continually quotes the "Great is Thy Faithfulness" line to me. The hardships in life do not negate God's faithfulness or committment to his creation. And we are both trusting that and fighting to trust it.
So, today, we rejoice. We remember. We hope.
Enjoy a few photos of us from Greenville where we enjoyed some White Duck Taco, and Jonathan said "make a Rock On face" as we were leaving my appointment. : )
Kelly and Jonathan
From my reading in Exodus this morning:
Ex. 14:12 When the people of Israel say, “it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness,” they are viewing their circumstances without reference to the fact that the Lord himself brought them to this place. As revealed throughout Israel’s history, the Lord is merciful in never leaving his people simply to themselves or to their circumstances. As both Daniel and his three friends will later assert (see Dan. 3:16–18; 6:10), whatever the Lord calls his people to face as a result of fearing him is in fact better than simply remaining alive
-from ESV study Bible notes
Hi Kelly!!!! Continuing to pray hard for you friend! So thankful for this update. And I hope you had a good time in upstate SC, my neck of the woods! Never ever ever ever forget...WE ALWAYS HAVE HOPE! God is always late, but right on time! Lifting you and your family up, Kelly! ~Jonathan "Hollywood" Dickson :-)
You are one hell of a strong and faithful servant. Our world problems would be over if we all had the faith and courage you have. Keep it going. Love you
Thanks for the update! Great reminder that none of us know what is in our future. But God goes before us and follows us. Each one of our days is written in His book and each moment laid out before a single day has passed (Psalm 139). He is present with us today to hold us together and He is waiting for us in tomorrow so we need not be afraid. There is no place we can go where He isn't there. Because of this promise, we can praise Him freely, without hesitation or reservation. Withholding praise can't change the outcome, but it will certainly change our outlook. We can praise our God in this moment with unknowns ahead because He can be trusted with our greatest hopes and deepest longings. For He, who made us knows how weak we are and He will never forsake those who trust in Him alone.
In catching up on these last few posts, I see that you’re coming to Greenville for the vaccines. If you ever need any local help here, please reach out.
Continuing to pray for you Kelly! For complete and total healing. Love the big smiles! :)
Rock on!!! 🙏🏻❤️🙌🏼
WAHOO! ROCK ON!!
Love you guys so much! Thanks for posting this update.
This is so awesome! Praying for you and your family. Continue to shine God’s light in all you do!
Misty