The
surgeon who placed the infusaport for my chemotherapy treatments and his wife
were long-time friends, going way back to junior-high-school youth group. After
he performed the surgery I told him I was very disappointed with my port
because I had tapped it several times and was still waiting for Scotty to beam
me up. My husband and brother groaned. They knew I had been waiting all day to
use that line. "And," I added, "you scarred me for life." Ha, ha. I was smiling. I
was so funny.
I
really wasn’t very worried about surgery for the port. It was minor. I had just
had major surgery where they removed everything, along with the kitchen sink,
so expected the infusaport surgery would be a piece of cake. Wrong. I woke up
in the middle of the night and realized the pain medication had worn off. I was
going to take my next dose with a drink of water when I realized I couldn’t sit
up or roll over. I was stuck. I was still recovering from my abdominal surgery,
so couldn’t use those muscles and now discovered I could not use my left arm or
shoulder either. I felt like a belly up turtle, struggling to flip over. I woke
up my husband. “Help, I can’t move.” He had to lift me up into a sitting
position. I depended on him for all movement for the next several days.
“Beam
me up Scotty.” This new world was a little strange. It wasn’t what I was used
to. The landscape was alien. There were waiting rooms, and robotic equipment. The
people dressed differently with scarfs and bandanas, wigs and hats. The
language had foreign words I did not understand. Brachytherapy? Carboplatin?
And my body felt different. The gravitational force must have been stronger in
this new atmosphere. It pulled at my legs and weighed my body down. The oxygen
must have been thinner, I was sure of it because I felt so tired. I was no longer
able to be independent. What kind of planet was this?
This
world is not our home. Times of illness, and trials, remind us that our
permanent place is with Jesus. Yes, He has work for us here on this earth. He
has given us people to love and to share our lives. Yet this world is still our
temporary dwelling. We are residents here for a little while, but it is not our
home. In Jesus’ last days before He was crucified He talked to His disciples
and tried to prepare them for what was coming. The unimaginable was around the
corner. His disciples would face unprecedented disappointment, confusion and
fear. But Jesus knew the rest of the story. He knew what was beyond the
unknown. He tried to get them to see a bigger picture. He explained to them
that they did not belong to this world (John 15:18). What happened here on this
earth, on this planet, was not the final story.
There is another world beyond
this one, another life, and we have a place there, an eternal home. Jesus
said to His disciples,
“Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms;
if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I
am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4.
“I have told you these things, so
that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take
heart! I have overcome the world.” John
16:33.
Today's post is an excerpt from The Bald Headed, Tattooed, Motorcycle Mama's Devotional Guide: For Women Battling Cancer & Those Who Love Them Copyright 2013 by Sara Nelson O'Brien.
All photos are courtesy of Pixabay.
Thank you Sara! This could not be more timely and gives my anxious soul this summer a measure of peace! I finally bought your book and after I read it hope to bless a friend battling cancer with it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Blessed Girl. I am praying for God's peace and love to enfold you. I hope the book is an encouragement to you.
DeleteBeam me up, Scotty, too...This world is not our home! What battles you've had to face and endure, Sara. They inspire me to be stronger and remember what Christ said.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lisa. We each have our own battles, but thankfully we are never alone and God never abandons us.
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