September, 2006

Saturday, September 16th.  Reading Psalm 146 this morning was great refreshment.  How quickly my thinking about our situation moves from having good perspective on what is happening, to having no perspective whatsoever.  This psalm delivers clarity on the big issues. 

¹ Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! ² While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. ³ Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. ⁴ His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. ⁵ Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God, ⁶ Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever, ⁷ Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners. ⁸ The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous. ⁹ The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside down. ¹⁰ The Lord shall reign forever— Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

What could be the purpose of my life if not to give praise to the Being who made me?  And as long as He gives us being and "holds us in life" as the Scriptures say, it only makes sense that we would sing to Him and offer praise to Him.  Who made the world and the places and the people that make my life what it is?  God did and He is worthy of praise for it all.  How rapidly I forget all of the blessings I enjoy daily and the excellence of being alive and thereby cease to give thanks and praise to Him from whom it all proceeds. 

I think the thing that refreshed me the most while reading this psalm was to remember how great He is in comparison with myself and other people.  After all, we are just people.  We are not in control of the universe, much less the cells in our own bodies.  We look up to the stars in wonder at the immensity of the universe and we look in at the complexity of our own bodies with the same wonder.  So, when verse three and four say that we should not put our "trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. ⁴ His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish" it reminds us that people are only people.  They do not live on the earth forever.   In fact, even the most powerful people--the princes of the earth--also die just like all people.  Alexander died.  Charlemagne died.  And when a person dies, so do his plans. All of Charlemagne's schemes--and he undoubtedly had many grand ones filling his mind even in his latter years--died with the man. And as his plans died, so did the hopes of those who had trusted in him.  And so, when we are in a crisis (as the writer of this song must have been) though it seems tempting to petition the government for relief, or to seek remedy from the powerful people on earth, it is ultimately a vain hope.  It's not that we don't trust people.  We obviously trust our excellent oncologist and our radiologist and the many nurses and assistants whose help we thank God for.  But we cannot ultimately trust in doctors or nurses or any other person.  There is  one person who conquered not only disease, but death itself.  That is Christ.  And because He ever lives, "never to die again," and because His plans never perish, and because He is always able to rescue those who call on Him, He is abundantly worthy of our trust. 

That's why this psalm continues as it does: Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God, ⁶ Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever, ⁷ Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners. ⁸ The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down.  This presents a vivid contrast between man who perishes and the God who made the heavens and the earth.  Look at all of His power!  He made the earth we live on; He made the heavens that overarch us; He made the ocean as well and all the creatures that fill them.  He keeps truth, not just for a lifetime, but for ever.  He is able, with or without the UN or the US, to execute justice for people who are oppressed.  He can provide food for those who hunger.  He frees prisoners.  He can even cause a blind person to have sight.  And He lifts up people who are bowed down.  That is why the psalmist declares that person "happy" who has God for his help and hope.  In comparison with the man who perishes, we see here the God who doesn't.  He cannot.  If we look at things in this clear light, in whom should we put our trust?  Should we set all of our hopes on other people and their power to save and help?  Or should we put our trust in God who, as the last verse states, "shall reign forever." Even though He is allowing us to experience need and difficulty and is stretching us, it seems like wisdom to keep on trusting Him.  He has already been faithful; He will continue to be so.

Thanks for praying for Christie.  The great thing that happened this last week is that her heart began beating more normally.  There were a couple of days when she only perceived one or two occasions when it skipped a beat.  That is great improvement and a relief!  However, she continues to have trouble with her hands and feet.  They sort of sting and tingle and she cannot open jars or perform other household tasks without pain. But the most difficult challenge has to do with her arm and the nerve in it.  Because of the awkward way she must hold that left arm during daily radiation (an arm which no longer has any lymph nodes in it) the muscles and the nerve are stretched and sore and often in spasm.  And it is subject to great swelling.  Thankfully she had her first of many weekly meetings with Tamara, the physical therapist.  She provided some good advice and showed Chris some helpful exercises.  Please pray for Christie as she continues radiation.  She has three more weeks and a day left.  We are over one third complete with the radiation cycle.  Thank you for your encouragement and your prayers. 

Meanwhile we completed our fourth week of homeschooling on Friday and, believe it or not, in the midst of her treatments, Christie has been the uber-teacher for her five oldest kids.  Remember that I took over homeschooling last Spring and was able to make progress in all areas with each of the kids.  However, if our capacities to smoothly manage the house and the homeschool were compared to airplanes, all last Spring I was flying a sputtering cropduster and this Fall  she pilots a sleek F-18.  Even with her physical impediments, there aren't many words to describe the fluidity and efficiency of Christie Turnbull teaching homeschool.  It has been very satisfying to her and good for her soul to be able to teach the kids each day and feel like things have that level of normalcy to them.  Praise God for that great gift. 

Here are a few photos of important people around here.

Thursday, September 7th.  A big part of what has made this week so discouraging is the fact that throughout the course of the Taxol treatments this summer, we assumed that once the treatments were complete, Christie's discomfort would slowly abate.  We were wrong.  The upset digestive system and the irregular heartbeat persist.  Moreover, the tingling in her hands and feet has greatly increased and has made doing things like laundry or walking around the house in bare feet a challenge.  Also, the normal soreness in her side and arm is much worse, largely because of the way she has to hold herself for the radiation treatments.  To complete the picture, while the radiation itself does not hurt and is not causing any noticeable side effects in these first days, Christie feels as though she is the protagonist in a science fiction movie.  This week it was as though she was transported to another dimension in which strange people, who look like normal doctors and nurses, smile at her and lead her into a Big Room.  In that Room they put her on a clear plastic table that moves up and down.  But the table is not the main feature in the room.  That room is home to a Great Machine that has two metal arms.  These arms move around the table as though they were going to grab whoever may find themselves upon it. While the Machine is sleeping, like a great white dragon, these people position my innocent wife on the table with great care and precision.  But when the Machine comes alive everyone in the room runs behind the wall (presumably in fear) and the only one with enough courage to face the Machine is Christie Turnbull.  It moves about the room and threatens her, but, everyday, because of her pure heart and great valor, it ultimately faints before her and goes back to sleep. Then, after my wife has stared down the Machine and all is safe, the nurses come out to rescue her from the table.  This happens everyday if you can believe it.  We have heard that this movie lasts for another four weeks. 

Please pray for my wife.  This is a difficult stretch for her.  Thank you!

"In this world, you will face trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world!" ~ John 16:33
 

Saturday, September 2nd. After much delay and the purchase of a new camera and the reading of three separate instruction manuals and the loading, malfunction, unloading and reloading of associated software, we finally have pictures of the past few weeks on our computer.  (Technological convenience can be a harsh mistress.)  Here are some that were supposed to be a part of updates during August.

Isabella deporting herself elegantly.                                                                             One of her sisters in beautiful Central Oregon.    

The view at the top of MacKenzie Pass in Central Oregon.

Scenes of cake-eating and juice-drinking and general merriment at the Chemotherapy Infusion Room on the final day of Christie's chemo treatments.  Hallelujah!

Last week we got to spend a few minutes at my alma mater, Linfield College.  This picture was taken in front of venerable Melrose Hall.