He Leadeth Me! O Blessed Thought

He leadeth me! O blessed thought! O words with heav'nly comfort fraught! Whate'er I do, where'er I be, still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.

Shammah (Paul) has a doctor appointment today. We are hoping to learn exactly what type of Leukemia he has. We know that it's acute (rather than chronic) and that's about all we know. Well, we know a little about his blood. His red blood cell count is low and his white blood cell count is elevated-not extremely so at this time. He's anemic and his platelet count is also low. When we went to the cancer center on Monday (our first visit) the doctor made the statement that if we had medical insurance we would be on our way to Vanderbilt that day.

We now have medical coverage (thank you, Hashachar, for all you do!) and I'm sort of expecting things to move very quickly now. We may be on our way to Vanderbilt or another well-equipped hospital soon. I think they are going to start chemotherapy as soon as they can. Shammah will be admitted to a hospital and probably stay there the duration of his treatment. (Not sure how long that will be.)

The day I learned that he probably had Leukemia (last Friday 6/24/11) I sat down at my piano and looked out the large window it sits by. As I looked up into the sky, immediately the clouds parted and rays of sunshine came down. They were those glorious rays - the ones you can easily track with your eyes. My favorite kind. And it only took a moment for them to cross the grass and come through my window. They washed over my face. I closed my eyes and let them, enjoying the sweetness of that moment.

Then I opened my eyes and looked up into that sky. As I watched the churning, dark clouds rapidly moving all around that small parted opening, God spoke clearly to me. He said, "Though things get a lot more stormy I will always part the storms and come through to you. I will be with you." And I got up from that piano bench, filled with abundant grace (power) and peace. It truly surpasses all understanding and continues to guard my heart and my mind.

Later that day I came home and Chayah (whose name means "abundant life") had left a dragonfly (I have a story about dragonflies: Dragonflies-My Favorite!) on my table along with a lovely little note. Truly I have known the favor of the Lord!

Shammah is as amazing in the small quiet times when no one is around as he is on "paper" through his blog, emails, and FB posts. As a wife to people who love and care for him very much I will say that he seems to physically be getting frail. All of this is so sudden and happening so fast, that we truly feel the deliberate timing of the Lord, and we feel His capable hands holding all of this so there is peace. But there is also definite signs that something is happening in Shammah.

Do read Shammah's blog if you haven't already. It's entitled, "Yippee! I have Leukemia" - he always was irreverent, wasn't he?! He's always loved that sledge hammer he wields at the foundations-however false-we love to stand on. But now I've slipped into my "Lorie on Life (LOL!)" mode and am in danger of being as irreverent as he! :-)

As I said, we feel God's hand in this. He's leading and it truly is a blessed and comforting thought. We also feel your prayers. And enjoy all your encouragements. Shammah made a comment about getting to see how loved he is. Thank you! Keep sending all your love and encouragements his way! It makes a difference as he has such a tender heart!

I know I was supposed to be praying but I couldn't resist snapping this shot. Now I'm glad I have it. Aren't you?!