We’ve been in California for 3 weeks, I’ve kept all my doctor appointments and made appointments for several months from now when I will return to continue the cycle of medical follow ups. Cancer treatment doesn’t just end abruptly after surgery and chemo and radiation. It goes on for years, going back to see the doctor(s) as they monitor the recovery and health of their patients. I started taking a pill a year ago which I will continue to take four more years. Even though I am “cancer free”, to the best of our knowledge, staying cancer free is a part of the total package; cancer treatment involves not only killing cancer cells now but keeping them at bay so there is no recurrence of cancer. So I keep praying, laying that need in the lap of God, my heavenly Father.

I don’t dwell on the reality of living with cancer in the background of my life. I couldn’t live fully that way. It’s the same with the MG I’ve lived with for over 45 years; if I constantly think about it, it becomes a mental prison in which I restrict my own freedom to live. Cancer and MG are real entities which affect my life in some (very real) respects, but we are made by God to live, not just survive. In the most horrendous physical condition, one can be very much alive, that is, fully engaged in living life. You’ve seen it. I’ve seen it in others and my usual inner response is amazement and deep respect for the one who shines so brightly in my vision. In my own experience with MG, I know this to be true. More depends on the state of our minds and hearts than on the state of our bodies. Anyone who has suffered anything in their body can nod in the affirmative to that!

So watch out, if you talk to me about “quality of life”! Much of life is what we make of it. Without a doubt, though, it sure helps to be surrounded by loving and affirmative relationships with others. People are very important to the well being of others. Good relationships contribute very much to the positive attitudes needed to live happily.

Though I don’t dwell on the problems facing me, I don’t ignore or deny their reality, either. My weakened heart condition is certainly not something I want to ignore. I try to do what is best for my physical welfare. When I am faced with the scariness and fears of my various conditions, I run real fast to my Abba Father. I cry out to Jesus, often with tears, knowing He understands. I give over my fears to Him as often as they come up in my mind, because I know I cannot handle them on my own. Living within the realm of one’s limitations isn’t necessarily limiting, rather, it is freeing. Accepting things as they are frees me to fully live, focusing on what is possible, not on what is not possible. This also frees me to be thankful for what is, and get over what isn’t. Would I like to hike the mountain trails? Sure! But since I cannot, I’m not going to moan and cry over it. Instead, I am happy as a clam to be able to walk, to see, to hear! And I will make the most of it.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 30, we leave California and start our drive cross country to West Virginia and home, stopping along the way to visit with friends in Arizona and Colorado. One of our stops will be with Amanda and Christian Hartman in the mountains of Colorado. They worked with us on staff at Mustard Seeds and Mountains, met and married there, in fact. We sort of feel responsible…! What a wonderful way to meet one’s mate, serving the Lord. Now they are building their family and we get to meet the two younger children, having met their first child when they were visiting WV a few years ago. It is a joy to my heart to know children are being raised in loving, godly homes.

Much of October will be travel for us. October is one of our favorite months of the year, too. We’ll have to do as much “time” on the porch as we can possibly squeeze in while home in Elkhorn, WV. It is therapeutic, that porch sitting. Our porch, a gift from God….

Hope you can enjoy some “porch” time, too,

Jacque