Before my wife and I got married we agreed that we would seek to do whatever God wanted us to do and go wherever he led us.  In the intervening 41 years, we have lived in 16 different homes in 10 different cities in 4 different states, above and below the Mason-Dixon Line and east and west of the Mississippi.  It has led me to 4 different avenues of work and her to practice her chosen profession of accounting in 7 different industries.  With each move and each change, we would just look at each other and gird ourselves for whatever the new change would bring.

I will never forget the evening back in 2007 when she asked me, “Are you ready for another adventure?”  She proceeded to tell me about her “argument” with God about her job and how she had placed way too much trust in it and the financial security it brought (even though it had taken a large personal toll on her).  She quit her job, I resigned from my teaching/coaching job to take a head coaching job.  That whole episode is a discussion all its own.  (I will most likely discuss that in a later post.)

Through all of the moves, changes in vocation, and change of geographic region, God has always gone before us and led us to a community of believers who became like family, giving us love, encouragement, and support through all of our ups and downs.  We were thrilled when our latest move brought us full circle to Lubbock, TX, the city where we first met in the mid-70s and where we got married and where, after a return to Texas after 2 years together in Alabama (Roll Tide!), we started our family.

Sometimes the moves we have made have been prompted by our own perceptions of what God wanted us to do, that is, by our own choices.  Other times circumstance forced us to make changes, and while we had choices in how we responded, the change in circumstances forced us to make a move we would not have made otherwise.  Each of these changes were adventures of faith that help to increase our sense of God’s presence and purpose in our lives.

This past week, we were launched on another adventure.  It definitely was not of our choosing and is unlike any other we have faced.  I have had two hearts attacks and quadruple bypass surgery after the second one.  Those were acute situations that did bring about some needed changes in lifestyle.  However, this one may have ramifications far beyond the immediate moment.

In February of 2020 my wife felt some discomfort in her back and abdomen that was relatively minor but still noticeable enough to take to the doctor.  Blood work showed no issues and after stopping consumption of apple cider vinegar pills, the symptoms went away.  However, in mid April, the symptoms returned and she had a noticeable decline in her energy levels.  Everyone who knows her says that she is one of the most energetic people they have ever known.  Something was definitely amiss.

It just happened that because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, her annual physical was pushed back to the end of April.  As a result her blood work revealed some abnormalities that had not been picked up by blood work done in February and March.  With liver counts being 8-9 times higher than normal her primary care physician sent her immediately across the hall to the lab where a CT Scan revealed a 2 cm growth on her pancreas that was partially blocking the duct which empties fluid from the pancreas and liver into the intestine.

The chain of events that have followed are clear evidence to us about how God goes before us to clear our path.  Her PCP sent her to an oncologist at the Joe Arrington Cancer Center at Covenant hospital in Lubbock.  It just so happens that a good friend who is a pharmacist and who had lost her own mother to pancreatic cancer has a step-sister who works in the oncologist’s office.  One phone call and we had an appointment with him the next day.  During our visit we were very comfortable and impressed with him.

He informed us that the first step was to send us to a gastroenterologist who would through a special procedure (one of which only a handful of doctors in Lubbock can perform) get a biopsy of the growth and place a stent in the duct if needed.  We asked him who he had in mind because we had our own GI doctor with whom we had complete comfort and confidence.  His reputation is sterling.  He asked who it was and when we told him, his face lit up and he informed us that he was one of the doctors who does the procedure and that they had worked together closely with a large number of such cases.

He immediately sent a text to our doctor and within an hour he had the blood work that was taken that afternoon and set up an appointment for us on Monday.  Our GI doctor told us that he had scheduled the procedure for the next day.  This is almost unheard of because although our regularly scheduled endoscopies and colonoscopies are done at his office, the proposed procedure required equipment that was only at the hospital.  The daughter of a very good friend is one of the nurses in that unit.  We have been overwhelmed my how this has moved so quickly.

I am writing this the night before the procedure.  We have set up a private FaceBook account that is only for friends and family to keep everyone informed about what is taking place.  We have been more thoroughly blown away and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers that are still flowing in.  Within five minutes of moment my daughter-in-law launched the page, our phones started blowing up with wishes for well-being, expressions of concern, and promises of prayer.  Many posted scriptures which reminded us of God’s promises for care, comfort, and protection.

So, as this new “adventure” unfolds we are assured of being in God’s hands.   We are confident that regardless of the test results, God will continue to go before us and walk with us in this Valley of the Shadow of Death.