{Pictured is Daisy, front, with her sisters}
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2).
It felt like the earth was giving way and the mountains were being moved into the sea. We had noticed some changes in our youngest daughter’s eyes, and the doctor had recommended that she get an MRI “just to make sure” that nothing else was going on. So to check the box, she got a brain MRI during our spring break. When the MRI was done, they asked us to wait for the doctor to come discuss the results with us. Suddenly four doctors came into the room; we knew instinctively this could only mean bad news. They said that Daisy had multiple brain tumors, one which was large, and they were concerned that it could block the flow of fluid to her brain. She would be immediately admitted to the hospital with the hope of having brain surgery within a day or two.
How do you process the news that your twelve-year-old has brain cancer?
In the days that followed, I thought I cried all the tears I had in me, but they just kept coming. We cried together and we prayed together, our souls needing to feel God’s presence. Our friends and family prayed for us and sent us lots of scriptures that encouraged our faith. The verse that stayed with me through this time was Psalm 46:1-2. In these verses, there is no answer, or even question asked, about why these troubles came. What is very evident is the peace of not fearing because God is our refuge and strength and a very present help. To this I held on tightly.
Daisy’s surgery was successful in that they were able to resect a majority of the tumor. She spent weeks in rehab and was finally able to eat normal foods again and regain much of her strength. She now continues to take medication which may have to be a long-term routine. The latest MRI showed no visible tumors, so we are praising God for his healing work in Daisy’s body. We will continue to have faith in a God who is very present and sustains us each day.
I look back on the past year and see what God has done in our lives and is still doing, and my heart is full of thanksgiving to God for his constant presence in our lives. As Sam Crabtree puts it in Practicing Thanksgiving, “Whereas thankfulness looks back in faith that nothing in our life has been wasted (God never wastes a thing), hope looks forward in faith that nothing will be wasted. Therefore, thanksgiving brightens one’s hopefulness. Every backward glance that marvels at the milestones in God’s past provision helps us look forward with more hope for divine provision yet to come” (p.29).
So I choose to look back on this difficult year as a milestone, with thankfulness for God’s presence and strength, which fuels my hope for the future.
