Mighty Warrior

One of my very favorite moments from my very first mission trip happened in a remote village in Guatemala.  The medical clinic was in full swing, but for some reason that day there were more healthy children than sick children.  The kids were full of life and energy and curiosity.  They weren’t used to seeing gringos, so they swarmed around us waiting for us to DO something.  With the help of a great interpreter, we settled the kids down and got them to sit on the ground in a semi-orderly fashion.  I stood on top of a makeshift “stage” (a few cinderblocks hastily arranged on the dirt) and told them one of the greatest bible stories of all time.  It’s the story of a serious underdog overcoming staggering odds.  Who doesn’t like THAT?!  The kids were mesmerized, as the interpreter did her best to imitate my southern drawl.  They cheered from a raw place deep inside them when God showed up in the story to help a people who were seemingly defenseless.

I kept having flashbacks of that moment as I sat in the bleachers at Flowery Branch High School last night.   As the cheerleaders raised the traditional giant banner for the home team to burst through as they entered the field of battle, my mind began to review the story of Gideon.

After Moses led the Israelites (God’s chosen people) out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved for 400 years, a guy named Joshua led them into the Promised Land – a land the bible describes as “flowing with milk and honey.”  Life was good.  The Israelites seemed invincible – you could say they were in their “teenage years” as a people group.  They were strong, the land was good, and life was great!

But life can turn on a dime.

The Israelites encountered an enemy stronger than them.  The Midianites.  They were a particularly repulsive and nasty enemy.  They didn’t fight fair.  They allowed hope to soar in the hearts of the Israelites, because they would fade into the background while the Israelites worked hard in the fields to grow their crops.  Life almost seemed normal for a season.  But just as the crops were ready to be harvested, the Midianites would swoop in with overpowering force and steal EVERYTHING.  Crops ravaged.  Hope destroyed.  Land devastated.  This happened over and over again.  The Israelites were weary of the cycle.  Giving up and NOT planting a crop would mean certain defeat.  They would starve to death.  But planting the crops began to seem futile because of the Midianites.   Finally the Israelites prayed to their God.

Cancer and the Midianites have a lot in common.  Both are nasty.  Both are relentless.  Both fight dirty.

But God has always delighted in showing up and showing off where man’s attempts fail.  Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that His power is made perfect in our weakness.  As if to underscore that statement, God chose a very unconventional method to answer the prayer of the Israelites.

There was a guy named Gideon.  He was just a guy trying to survive in a tough set of circumstances.  In fact, when we first meet Gideon in the pages of scripture, he is literally hiding in a hole in the ground trying to grind enough wheat to make a few loaves of bread for his family.  He had somehow managed to harvest some wheat before the Midianites swooped in to steal it all. 

The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon – while he was in the bottom of a pit and said these words:

“The Lord is with you, Mighty Warrior!” (Judges chapter 6)

Gideon had a pretty funny, and very human, response to that.  “Really?  Coulda fooled me!  Well then Mr. hotshot Angel, tell me THIS...If the Lord IS with us, as you say, why has all this happened to us?  Where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about – you know, the Egyptian plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the battle of Jericho – ALL that.   Where is God NOW when we need Him, Mr. Angel?” 

Ever thought those thoughts when your circumstances weren’t the ones you’d choose?  I surely have.  “Lord, why has all this happened to us?  We’re the good guys, remember?!  We don’t drink, we don’t smoke, we don’t cuss (much).  We go to church every Sunday.  We pay our taxes. We vote and even watch the stupid debates.  We love our neighbor as ourselves. Aren’t you keeping score up there? Why did cancer hit OUR family – and why did it have to be BRAIN cancer?  How about Big Toe cancer instead?  Intellectually and spiritually, we know better than to ask those questions.  But emotionally… we just go ahead and ask them anyway.  It’s human.  Thankfully, God is bigger than our silly questions.

I love what God said in reply to Gideon’s questions.  “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.  Am I not sending you?”

Gideon (as paraphrased in the little-known and seldom-quoted, “Aunt Marybeth Translation” of the Bible): “The strength I HAVE?  Are you crazy?  Don’t you know I have a huge scar on my head that I now have to cover with a bandana because my hair is falling out?  Did you FORGET that I am 22 radiation treatments deep into a 30 treatment regimen?  How about chemo?  You DO remember the chemo, right? – Exactly WHAT strength is it that you mean? And by the way, it’s pretty funny that you called me a ‘Mighty Warrior’ earlier… in case you haven’t noticed, I’m hiding in the bottom of a pit.  Nothing warrior-like about that.  You should think about submitting for a voluntary drug test, Mr. Angel of the Lord.”

The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”

Most of the time, we’d rather stay safely hidden – and our strong preference is for God to just go annihilate the enemy by Himself while we passively watch.  But that’s not the God of the Bible.  Over and over again, He required plain ole humans to go out and FIGHT… in the strength they had.  

Keaton is #70

Remember that guy Nehemiah, who built the wall in the last post?  He said something AWESOME in Nehemiah 8:10.  He said, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord IS your strength.”

When we renew our minds, and we stop questioning God and instead trust Him to lead us through the valley – when we obediently fight and trust Him to supply what we lack, God SHOWS UP.

Gideon’s story is spread over a few short chapters in the book of Judges beginning in chapter 6.  You should go read it.  It’s got underdogs and villains and bloody battles and miracles.  Better than any novel.  How does the story end?  Well, I’ll let you read it from a real translation of scripture, as opposed to the Aunt Marybeth version… but it ends something like the final scoreboard from last night's game:

 Good Guys:  54     Bad Guys:  14

It was a great night of football.  Keaton displayed the strength of the Lord.  In the bleachers, we laughed, we cried, and we celebrated the fact that the Joy of The Lord IS our Strength.  We watched a true Warrior do battle on a football field, when the enemy tried its best to send Keaton to a pit.  (Based on the amount of chemo and radiation and active cancer cells in his body, the enemy figured Keaton would be home on the couch listening to the game on local radio.) 

The enemy figured wrong.  “The Lord is with you, Mighty Warrior!”

Enjoy these shots from the game.  And keep praying for Keaton!

Keaton's youngest cousin, Delk, was cheering him on!

Keaton #70 and His Fellow Warriors

Sorry #8, The Joy of the Lord is My Strength!

Keaton Clapping After The O Line Mows 'em Down.  Even I could have scored thru that hole!

Staying Loose Between Offensive Series

On The Sidelines After Yet Another TD!

The Cook Boys Swarm the Field to Find Keaton After The Victory

Post Game Huddle With The Coach

Fans Showing Some Love to KC

Proud Grandparents!

Gray Goes With Everything

For the past 12 years, my husband Keith, has had the privilege of working from home.  He works for a small, highly-specialized consulting firm and while his coworkers are few in number, they are flung far and wide… from Oregon to Atlanta and even a couple in London.  He occasionally has to travel to client sites, but for the most part his morning commute consists of two sets of stairs.  Personally, I would be an abysmal failure in that environment, but his God-given sense of self-discipline coupled with his West Point Military Academy training enables him to thrive. He is a hard-working man, but eliminating the commute (especially in traffic-snarled Atlanta) nets him much more time with his family than most dads have.  We are thankful for that.

The dress code for this work arrangement, as you might imagine, takes “business casual” to a whole other dimension.  Shorts, T-Shirts, and flipflops are standard fare.  A disproportionate number of his T-Shirts are gray.  Why… I have no idea.  Most of his shorts are khaki; nothing unusual about that.  But for almost 20 years of marriage I have been trying (intermittently) to explain to him that gray and khaki do NOT match.  Every single time I say it, he glances down at his “work attire” with a look of complete astonishment on his face, as if he’s never heard such a thing.  Then he very calmly tells me, “Gray goes with everything.”  And for almost 20 years, his answer has driven me crazy – in that small way that living with another human being in a fallen world can sometimes do.

But as of today, I am officially conceding the point.  As of today, I am choosing to AGREE with his position.  As of today, I stand shoulder to shoulder with my spouse and declare at the top of my lungs, “GRAY GOES WITH EVERYTHING!!”  Why the sudden shift in my perspective?

Well you see, I am officially a very proud member of “Keaton’s Warriors.”  The American Cancer Society has designated the color GRAY for Brain Cancer the same way it designated pink for Breast Cancer.  (Makes perfect sense)  Some of Keaton’s school friends had these bracelets made to show their loyalty and their support.  This photo captures my whole family.  It's the first time we've dressed alike without the wailing and vehement protesting.

I wear it with absolutely everything!  Khaki shorts?  Wearing the gray bracelet.  Fancy dress and high heels?  Gonna wear the bracelet.  Brown outfit for Fall?  Wearing it.  Gray goes with everything!

By way of update, Keaton reached the HALFWAY point of his radiation treatments today.  Fifteen down, fifteen to go.  He’s doing amazingly well, which I attribute to the prayers of so MANY who are faithfully lifting his name up to the heavens each and every day.  His side effects have been minimal, and his attitude has been incredible.  Did I mention he makes it to football practice every day after school?  Wants to win his starting job back on the O Line.  Won’t surprise me a bit if he does just that.

There’s no END to the football analogies I could have chosen for this “halftime” milestone in his treatment, but I figured after the last two posts… you guys were probably sick of an old lady trying to write about football.  So I’m going to just stick with what I know best. J

I attended the Women of Faith conference a couple of weeks ago, and heard Kelly Minter teach from the book of Nehemiah.  She was great, and God had given her some spiritual insights to share with us that I had never pondered.  I was inspired to go back and read the book of Nehemiah for myself.  It’s a short book – takes about 30 minutes to read the whole thing.  But I noticed something this time through that I had never paid attention to before.  I love that about the Bible.  No matter how many times I’ve read something, God can open my eyes to it in a different way.  That’s a great example of that verse in Hebrews 4:12 that says “scripture is living and active.”

The story told by Nehemiah is not a complicated one.  Essentially, the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem had been attacked and conquered by a powerful enemy.  In bible times, cities were “fortified” for protection, meaning that a literal WALL was constructed around it to keep the bad guys out.  Jerusalem’s wall had been flattened, the city had been burned to the ground, and the citizens had been hauled off to the conquering land of Babylon.  Nehemiah was born in captivity, so for him… the horror of Jerusalem’s demise was simply a history lesson – the way our kids study Pearl Harbor today.  But Nehemiah was a very patriotic soul, and he wanted God to restore Jerusalem to the splendor it once held.  So with God’s help, he set out to do that very thing.  Rebuilding the wall was his first priority.

That’s just the basic storyline, and I’ve read it many times.  It’s exciting.  It’s got lots of action and adventure, and it’s an easy read.  (You should read it.)  So what caught my eye this time that I had not noticed before?  In the New Living Translation, Nehemiah 4:6 tells us these words:  “At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.”

I actually laughed out loud at God.  He is so amazing and so personal with us.  I had been thinking about Keaton’s upcoming “half way point” with his radiation treatments, and God focused my mind on a passage of scripture that addresses a “half way point.”  How cool is THAT?  So I began reading with very focused attention.  One thing I noticed from the passage is that when a project is NEW, people jump on board “with enthusiasm.”  Keaton has had such an incredible outpouring of love and support from family, and friends, and heck - from people he’s never even met.  We are so grateful for all of you!

But enthusiasm is not an easy thing to maintain over the long haul.  So this pep talk isn’t for Keaton at ALL – it’s for all you wonderful people who wear the gray bracelets.  Personally, I think Keaton’s support system is the best that’s ever been!  And I know we want to stay sharp.

Cancer is a fierce enemy, and defeating it will not be quick or easy.  But we are determined!  So was Nehemiah.  In his story, it was  at the half way point  of building the wall that the enemies surrounding Jerusalem began to take notice and step up their  game. The going got a little tougher at the half way point, and the workers felt the heat.

Verse 8 says,  “The workers are getting tired and there is so much rubble to be moved.  We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”    I love the humanness of that verse.  Fifteen roundtrips from Flowery Branch to Egleston DONE… but the “fifteen- to- go” might just start to get old.  Keaton would probably like to swap commutes with his Uncle Keith for awhile, but he doesn’t have that option.

As chemo and radiation build up in the body, fatigue becomes a factor.  Cancer IS a physical battle, but do not underestimate the mental aspect of the fight.  A friend of mine has a husband in the fight.   His is Pancreatic.  Here’s a quote from a recent Caringbridge entry of his, “The war against cancer is a constant battle of attrition.  It tries to wear you down until the patient simply gives up.  It is impossible to fight 24/7.”

Nehemiah understood this aspect of his fight, and he took steps to make sure no one gave up.  And I want to make sure that Keaton’s Warriors get ready to step in the gap if fatigue (mental or physical) becomes a factor!  Listen to what Nehemiah did (again from chapter 4, verses 13 & 14.)   “So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas.  I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears and bows.  Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid of the enemy!   Remember the Lord who is great and glorious, and fight for your brother!”

What are Keaton’s “lowest parts of the wall?”  Well, I don’t know for sure (teenage boys aren’t the most verbally expressive creatures on the planet)… but I think it might just be the isolation his treatment routine brings.  He DOES make it to school by 4^th period and to football practice after school, but his mornings certainly don’t look like other 16 year-olds.  And so, as Keaton’s Warriors, God has stationed us to stand guard at these low parts.  How do we do that?  What are our swords, spears, and bows?  Well, as we're sitting at the breakfast table eating our Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs, Keaton is on I-85 headed in the opposite direction of Homeroom.  What would you want in that situation?  Probably nothing elaborate – the little things mean so much.  How about text messages, or instagrams or other social media words that I have absolutely no idea how to use?  How about a note now and then to let him know we haven’t forgotten and we are absolutely remembering to pray! I have become convinced that Keaton’s Warriors are the most creative people on the planet… so I have no doubt that you guys will figure this out!

As the last half of Keaton’s wall gets built (the last 15 radiation treatments), let’s pray that God will supernaturally empower those treatments to SO obliterate this brain tumor that cancer will FLEE from his body forever!   Nehemiah 6:15-16 “So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.  When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”   If Keaton’s blood counts cooperate, his wall will be completed on October 24^th.  Now you know the prayer between now and then!

On October 12^th, there’s a special football game at The Branch.  It’s Cancer Awareness Night.  Keaton’s Warriors will be out in masse.  There will be T-Shirts to go with our beloved bracelets. 

Remember… GRAY GOES WITH EVERYTHING!!!

Isaiah 49:22,23(b) This is what the Sovereign LORD says: See,  I will beckon to the Gentiles; I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.  Then you will know that I am the LORD.  Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

Thirty

So many of you out there have been faithful to ask about Keaton, so I wanted to use the blog to provide this update.  Keaton has brain cancer.  The official name is “Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma.”  Medical treatment has begun in full swing.  He has already had surgery, where the largest of two tumors was removed by the fabulous medical team at John’s Hopkins in Baltimore.   (Many among that staff are now considered true friends of our family.)   The lone remaining tumor is going to be wiped out with a combination of radiation treatments and chemo.  That will be done locally here at Egleston in Atlanta.  We look forward to meeting new friends on THAT medical team.  Thirty radiation treatments have been prescribed and will begin next Thursday 9/13/12.   (Five per week for six weeks.)   The chemo will also begin next week, and will be the oral variety.   These details for treating the remaining tumor were relayed to us yesterday.  Details have to be digested in bits and pieces or else one chokes.

I’ll admit when I first heard that the number of prescribed radiation treatments for Keaton was THIRTY, my heart sank a bit.  There was a physical heaviness pressing in on me – a bit like the flack jacket they drape across you at the dentist when they are taking x-rays of your teeth.  I quickly tried to “take those thoughts captive” and turn to a more positive mindset...because that’s what we’re commanded to do in scripture.

 

“Thirty isn’t so many, really” I said to myself.  But my words rang hollow in my spirit, and I knew it.  Try telling a kid who’s counting down the days to Christmas that “Thirty isn’t so many” and see what kind of reaction you get.  

I have decided that I have tremendous respect for coaches.  Before the big game when the other team is bigger and stronger and has a better record, or at half-time of the big game when the team is not faring too well against the opponent, the coach must use words to change the team’s perspective.  The coach must make “30” seem like no big deal.

I grew up playing every sport available to girls back in ancient times, and while that was considerably less than girls have today, I still learned something very important. There’s something that separates good coaches from bad, something that separates coaches who are actual LEADERS from coaches who simply earn a paycheck.  The good ones, the leaders – actually BELIEVE that “30” is no big deal; it isn’t just rhetoric for them.  Their passion is contagious and they help players BELIEVE that victory is not only possible… it is WELL within reach!  Do they lie about how hard it will be?  No.  But they change the perspective and focus of the locker room  FROM  “how big the opponent is, or how lopsided the scoreboard is”  TO  “how many tools we have available to US to defeat them!”  The  leader coach   BELIEVES in the victory; BELIEVES in and loves his players.

You see, good PLAYERS know truth from rhetoric.  They KNOW when a coach is building them up versus setting them up.  They KNOW fact from crap.  They just do.

When I first heard the number of radiation treatments was THIRTY, all I could come up with was… crap.  So I did what I always do in that situation.  I asked God to give me HIS perspective.  I wasn’t really asking so that I could help Keaton, although that would be a great outcome, I just wanted my OWN thoughts to be more aligned with God’s.  That’s really the whole purpose of prayer. I wanted to be one of those coaches who BELIEVES.

I didn’t get much from my initial prayer.  It was uttered in the middle of Friday afternoon rush hour traffic in Atlanta.  (For those of you who have been there, I need say no more.  For those of you who haven’t, I’ll simply say that sometimes in life it is HARD to be a good Christian girl.)   I was driving one son to an appointment and rushing home to greet the other son from the bus.  The prayer was offered in the middle of a busy day, in the middle of a busy phase of life.  Does it surprise you that God did not respond to me immediately in that setting?  Why should He?  I wasn’t really paying attention to Him.  What DOES surprise me is that He honored even THAT prayer, uttered in THOSE distracted circumstances, AT ALL.  Oh the mercy of our Father!! 

As I woke up this morning, slowly because it was Saturday – the one glorious day of the week I don’t wake up to an alarm – I lay in bed still and quiet.  I just stayed there for a minute.  The clock still started with a six.   (My farm girl roots grow deep, and late for me is anything that starts with a seven.)   I just lay there still for a minute, and God began to answer my prayer from yesterday’s rush hour.  It wasn’t a long conversation… just a few words, but a smile spread across my face and I came downstairs to greet my family.  I grabbed some coffee and my bible and started researching the thought God greeted ME with to start my day.

Thirty.

King David is undeniably the most famous king in all of scripture.  He was known as the “man after God’s own heart.”  He was chosen to be king by God himself… not by the people of Israel.  King David became famous as a  warrior  king.  He led his army into countless battles and had the greatest Win/Loss record of any king in his day.  He collected some interesting trophies from his Wins… but I’ll let you read about those for yourself.

One of the smartest things David did as King, was to select an elite group of fighting men among the hundreds of thousands under his command.  It was his “All Star Team.”  Because he was so wise, and such a good leader, David knew that every good team needs a name to give them an identity.

The name of King David’s All Star Team?   THE THIRTY.   You can read about them in 2 Samuel 23.  Scripture doesn’t tell us the bio’s of each and every one of The Thirty, but it tells us enough to let us know these were NOT ordinary soldiers.  The team captain of The Thirty was a man named Abishai.   (I just call him Abe.)   How did he get that position?  Nothing much.  He just killed 300 enemy soldiers by himself in an actual battle.  Did he do this from the safety of a tank?  (In bible times, those were called “iron chariots.”)   Nope.  He did it with a homemade spear in hand-to-hand combat.  Abe would have been a great O-Lineman.

There was also a guy on the team named Benaiah.   (I just call him Ben.)   Simply put, Ben was a stud.  When the opposing team had high-profile players, The Thirty summoned Ben to the front.  He delighted in taking down the Sports Illustrated cover boys.   (Scripture called them “champions.” They probably would have been Middle Linebackers or perhaps blitzing Safeties.)   When Ben got done with them, Scripture just called them “dead.”  

Ben did a few other things worth mentioning as well.  Once ole Ben got mad at a lion that had been wreaking havoc on the land.  He chased the lion down – on a snowy day – and killed him.  A stinkin’ LION – in the SNOW.  Did I mention he was a stud?  This one is for you, David Andrews... Ben would have been a great CENTER.   (Thanks for the autographed football from the Dawgs, and for taking the time to encourage Keaton.  We're fans of your character and your team!)

Yet another time Ben, armed only with a big stick, killed a “great Egyptian warrior” who was armed with a spear.  Spear?  No problem.  Ben just took the thing away from the “great Egyptian warrior” and killed the guy with his own spear.

I could go on, but I think you get the point… which is the point God made to ME this morning as I lay still enough to actually listen.  How you interpret “thirty” radiation treatments is all in how you look at it. 

So Keaton, here’s God’s “pregame pep talk” for the radiation treatments that begin next Thursday 9/13/12. 

Because you are one of the smart athletes who can readily tell “truth from crap,”  I’ll shoot it to you straight.  The fact is that there are MANY cancer cells banded together to form the tumor that currently resides in your brain.  God has chosen THIRTY radiation treatments for you precisely BECAUSE that’s how many you need.  Is it a lot?  Yep.  That’s why He gave us the Bible. The stories in scripture REALLY happened – they are all true.  Is it LOGICAL that “Abe” could kill 300 enemy soldiers by himself?  One against 300?  I don’t think those are odds anyone would volunteer to fight.  But Abe wasn’t really alone.  It was Abe + God.  I like THOSE odds very much.  The radiation will be strong by design.  But the fact that God will be with you is the real difference maker.  I know there are alot of cancer cells, but we have THIRTY radiation treatments... and our guys slay 300 at a time.

Cancer is a high profile disease.  It gets lots of press.  It’s famous in fact.  Remember Ben?  He was one of The Thirty.  He delighted in taking out the high profile opponents.  Ben is on our team, Keaton.  Ben is just  one  of the Thirty treatments God has prescribed for you.  I’m starting to like our team quite alot - and I haven't even had a chance to talk about the chemo yet!

So, here are the REAL facts.  The opponent?  Brain Cancer.  Our Team?  God.  Scripture.  A brilliant Medical Team spanning two states.  A strong Christian family.  The THIRTY radiation treatments.  Chemo.  And all of YOU, who make up TEAM KEATON.  It’s six days til game time.  Let’s kick some cancer butt and grab some headlines.  God gets all the glory for Team Keaton!

Many of you have asked for ways you could help encourage Keaton.  If you are still interested, send me an email at marybethcook@bellsouth.net.  We came up with an inexpensive, creative idea that I’ll be happy to share with you! But most of all, we ask for your prayers!! 

Keaton, just so you'll know, as of this morning I'm officially one of those coaches who BELIEVE.

The O Line

I’ve been thinking a lot about “trials” lately.  God sets a pretty high bar in scripture for our conduct in the midst of a trial.  You know the verses, things like “Consider it  pure  joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2)  It’s the word “pure” that gets me in that verse.  If it just said “joy”, you could muster up a tough exterior and try to put on a determined face and gut it out... in Jesus name, amen.   But “pure joy” implies something entirely different.  PURE joy summons visions of pom-poms and stadium waves to me.  That’s a high bar when brain tumors are involved, or when there’s a recurrence of cancer before your body even recovers from the last round of chemo, or when your husband tells you and your three kids that he’d rather live elsewhere now, but thanks for the swell memories.

All three of those examples are real issues going on right now with people I dearly love.

I’ve been asking God to give me a RIGHT perspective of “trials” because MY view of “pure joy” doesn’t seem to fit with the names of God I’ve been studying – the very nature of His character.

I’d like to tell you that I tackled it in a very scholarly fashion - you know - hitting the commentaries from the seventeenth century really hard and sorting it all out with the deep thinkers.  But I didn’t do that.  I just prayed and said, “God, I’m seeing such a wide variety of reactions to trials in the people around me – and I’m reading such confusing and seemingly impossible scriptures on the subject.  I know my thinking is probably wrong on this, so will you help me gain a perspective that’s more like YOURS?”   That’s it.  That’s all I did.

And little by little, through a podcast here or a passage of scripture there or some bantering with Him during a jog, He began to help me SEE.  He knows He wired me athletically and created a love for sports in me, so often times He communicates with me in those terms.

My 16 year-old nephew is a proud member of the “O-Line” on his high school football team.  I’ve been learning that there’s a certain “code” that these guys follow.  For example, members of the Offensive Line DO NOT wear long sleeves under their football jerseys , EVER - no matter how cold it is outside.  It’s a matter of honor with them. (I’m in the bleachers with hand-warmers and foot warmers and thermal underwear under three layers of clothes, and a parka… and Keaton is on the field in short sleeves.)   Members of the O Line set the training  standard  for the team in the weight room.  They do more sets and reps and they use more weight than anyone else.  They train that way because if they don’t… the defense runs over them like they were “breath and britches.”  Doing time in the weight room helps ensure their ability to STAND in the face of a serious blitz by the opposing defense and helps them protect the members of their backfield.

Are the weight room sessions fun?  Uh, NO.  Muscles shake and burn.  Sweat runs like a river.  There’s no glory in the weight room either.  No marching band or cheerleaders.  No screaming fans.  Nobody doing the wave.  But the weight room is where O Linemen get STRONG.

God has been showing me that we are far more than just physical bodies down here.  We are SPIRIT too, and there are many parallels between the two to help us understand life better.  Our  spirit   must grow strong if we really want to have an abundant life.  How in the world does it do that?  Regular Church Attendance?  Praying?  Having a Quiet Time?  Listening to Podcasts?

Well, there certainly ARE spiritual  disciplines   that must be followed to ensure good spiritual health.  Those things listed above are like spiritual “food.”  We feed our physical bodies every single day don’t we?  Multiple times per day, in fact.  So why do we think we can be strong spiritually if we deprive our spirits of the nutrition it needs?  An O Lineman would be weak if he didn’t  EAT.

But if ALL an O Lineman ever did was EAT… he’d just be a FAT lineman, not necessarily a strong one.  Same goes for our Spirit.  Ever met a “professional Christian?”  You know… the person who knows ALL the answers in Sunday School – and can recite entire passages from Leviticus?  That’s not necessarily a testament of their STRENGTH… it just means they eat a lot.  I might want that person on my O Line, and I might not.  I’d need to know more about them first.

So what do our spirits need besides spiritual “food” to grow  strong,  rather than just fat?  You’re not going to like the answer.

Trials.

O Linemen get through the rigors of the weight room BECAUSE they keep the vision of VICTORY on Friday Night in their minds during every rep and every set.  They visualize pancake blocks and touchdowns.  They know the crowd roars for the tailback who carried the ball across the goal line… but they KNOW, he wouldn’t have made it without the blocking.  A smart and successful tailback, walks to the sideline after every touchdown and slaps his O Line on the back, and says “thank you.”  

James urges us to “consider it pure joy” when we have trials BECAUSE our spirits are getting strong and preparing us for future victory in LIFE.  Do we like the trial?  Probably not any more than an O Lineman likes the weight room.  Do we dread it?  Yep.  Do we mentally focus on the pain the trial will cause?  Oh yeah.

 

But a Christian who wants to succeed in life learns to see the trial for what it is.  Preparation for future battles, future glory.  Strength training.  Without that perspective, we’ll just fall apart DURING the trial and give up before we make it to the other side.  No self-respecting O Lineman quits the team in the middle of the weight room on Wednesday...he's focused on Friday night.  Think about the people you GENUINELY respect and turn to for advice and counsel.  Aren’t they people who have been THROUGH some stuff?  And gained strength and wisdom?  Trials create people with something to offer.

My nephew, the O Lineman?  He’s not at practice this week with his team at Flowery Branch High School.  His physical body has been sidelined, but his spirit is in the weight room.  He’s getting stronger for life, not just football.   He’s doing that through a trial.   This week his weight room is in Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.  He’s got a brain tumor and will undergo surgery on Friday.  Obviously, he’d rather be at football practice with his teammates, complaining about the heat.  But Keaton is a Christian, and he trusts God during this trial.  Is he scared?  I don’t know… would YOU be scared if you were having brain surgery in two days?  I would be.  But it’s those times when we realize we have NO CONTROL in a situation that our faith begins to pump some serious iron. 

Keaton, if you’re reading this buddy – know that a strong FAITH is the ultimate O Line in life.  So we’ll go through this trial and we’ll have a stronger spirit on the other side of it.  I don’t know what it is that God is training you up for, but I know He won’t waste this trial.  He’s not like that.  He sees the future, and He’s making you into a person with something to offer the world.  Trust THAT, when the rest of this trial gets confusing.  But also trust THIS: unlike the weight room at Flowery Branch, your Johns Hopkins weight room has LOTS of cheerleaders!!

For the rest of you out there… how about we eat some spiritual food together this week?  Let’s pray for Keaton. 

We're Home!

At the present moment, I am laying on my green couch in my own living room.  I just took one of the longest, hottest and best showers of my life.  My husband's welcome home gift to me was a professionally-cleaned house.  Have I mentioned lately that I married WAY above my pay grade?  It's great to be together as a family again.  I am joyful in spirit and weary in body.  Just wanted everyone to know that we made it home from Guatemala safely.  Just in case you are not yet sick of reading these blogs... here's one more entry I wrote on the plane ride home.  Thanks for praying us home.

At the time of this writing, we are on our Delta flight headed for home.  It’s a strange combination of feelings – as any of you know who have been on mission trips before.  At this point in the journey, our bodies are running on fumes.  The only way I know to describe the fatigue is “shaky tired.”  Yet our emotions are on overdrive.  We’ve begun to try to process all that we saw this week, and all that we saw God DO this week.  It was NOT an ordinary week. 

Our hearts are filled with anticipation to reunite with those we hold most dear back home, and at the same time, our hearts are already dreading the airport goodbyes with our newest friends.  This team assembled at Hartsfield last Friday as awkward strangers, but at departure time on that same sidewalk in a couple of hours… there will be sadness.  I’d give a kidney to anybody on this team. 

Individual strengths have been on display – it’s amazing to see how God assembles a team.  Some are nurturers, some are take-charge types, some are humble servants always in the background, and some are natural born leaders always up front.  I’ve learned from my two mission trips that you can check your snap judgments of your teammates right along with your luggage and forget about them.  One of God’s hobbies, I think, is shattering our stereotypes.  This week I watched a man I “figured” would be the most detached and stand-offish from the group jump into the kids program during the clinics like nobody’s business.  He blew up 487 million balloons and turned them into animals if he did ONE.  An amazing man.

I watched another member of our team, an accomplished airline pilot, heap praise on a college kid among us who showed the pilot how to fly in a counseling station.  I watched a mother on our team weep repeatedly in a counseling station as the life circumstances of each patient took another chunk out of her heart.  She confided in me later that she believes her emotions are “getting in the way” of her effectiveness.  I beg to differ.  I think it’s exactly why God HAD her in those counseling stations.  How often do you think a Guatemalan villager experiences the tears of a gringo?  Isn’t that a testament of the unity of God’s global church?

It will take me a couple of weeks to “decompress”.  I learned that last year.  My emotions will be all over the place during that time (and not from hormonal swings this time!)  As is my tendency, I will journal my way through those times.  Some I will choose to share with you, and others will be just between God and me.

I wanted to leave you today with one last God story.  I wanted to write it last night, but I just couldn’t.  It was too raw and my heart needed some time to just treasure the moment.

During the final moments of Clinic 4, our last one of the week, I finished up in my counseling station a few precious minutes before the others.  I immediately seized the opportunity to grab my camera and take some shots of a “clinic in action” to share with all of you on the blog.  I hastily laid my Bible and my Journal down on the concrete floor beside my counseling station and ran around the room snapping photos as fast as I could go.  I was thrilled to be able to do that.  Watching the dentist teach the village kids how to brush their teeth was priceless!

Once a clinic is over, it’s all-hands-on-deck for repacking and reloading the supplies and equipment back into the fleet of Suburbans.  It’s a frenzied time.  But that day was different.  The mission team was treated to COLD beverages from a restaurant about a “block” down the street.  We had packed coolers full of lunch meat and bread to eat, but to have a cold Coke to go with it felt like a day at the spa!  We were laughing and talking and sharing stories a mile a minute.  The Guatemalan Ministry staff stayed behind to pack everything up – just to serve US.  When they were done, they drove the Suburbans to the front of the restaurant to save us the trouble of back-tracking.

About an hour into the five hour drive home… I reached into my backpack to get my bible and journal to start studying and asking God what He wanted me to share on the blog.  That’s when the wave of nausea hit me.  I immediately knew in my gut that my Bible and Journal never made it back into my backpack after my “photography shoot.” 

I cannot describe to you to the depth of my anguish in that moment.  The Journal was one I use exclusively in Guatemala.  It had two years worth of Clinic Notes and Devotion Notes from Dr. Hermann’s Worship Time with us each morning.  The name of  every single patient I had seen the last two years in the counseling stations were written in that journal, along with a brief synopsis of their circumstances.

And my Bible.  It was the one held together by heavy-duty Scotch Packing Tape.  (I would have used Duct Tape, but I didn’t want to cover up the words “Holy Bible” on the binding.)  The fake leather is fraying at the corners.  It’s certainly not pretty to the casual observer, but to me, it is beautiful.  Like most Americans, I have plenty of other Bibles.  I have newer ones and bigger ones and ones with helpful study notes.  But THIS was my travel bible.  Anytime I’ve left home in the last 15 years and needed to have a Bible with me, THIS was the one I took.  It’s got six years of BSF notes written in it.  It’s been to every Bible Study I’ve taken, and every Bible Study I’ve tried to lead during those years.

In short, this Bible has been where I’ve been… both physically AND emotionally.  I was brokenhearted in the back seat of that Suburban. 

We did all the things you do when you realize something valuable is missing.  We checked with all the other team members to see if someone picked it up.  We checked all the Clinic Supply Bins, once we arrived back at the Ministry Center, to see if someone had crammed it in there while packing up.  No luck.  It was just gone.  I knew in all likelihood, it had been swiped… perhaps by a child hoping to sell it.

With the combination of extreme fatigue, heightened emotion from four clinics in rapid succession, and the loss of my beloved Bible… I will confess that I sat down in the Ministry Center and had myself a cry.  I was sitting at a table by myself in the common area at the time.  I’m not much of a crier, so when I do… it’s more of a silent thing.  Just tears spilling over the banks and down my cheeks.  In the Ministry Center, there is NO WHERE to go to have a private moment, so I just sat where I was and gave in to the emotion.  Unfortunately, Braxton strolled up in that moment.  He’s not used to seeing his mom cry, so when he realized how upset I was over my bible… his banks flooded too.  We were a pitiful pair!  So we decided to do what we’ve done a lot of this week.  We prayed that God would help us find my Bible.  Our small group family member, Cameron, joined us in that prayer.  THEN we called it a night.

The next day, our team leader (TG) told me that she had told Dr. Hermann about the Bible and he was going to make some phone calls.  I’ll confess that it didn’t spark much hope in me.

Three hours later, word came that my Bible and my Journal had been found back in the village of San Marco!!  Oh ye of little faith!  The very BEST part of this whole ordeal was seeing my son’s reaction to the news.  He immediately connected our prayer to the miracle of finding the Bible.  THANK YOU JESUS!  It may sound like a small thing to you, but to a parent anxious to see signs of spiritual growth in her child… it was a gift. 

At that point, we had no idea how the Bible would make its way back to ME from a village five hours away (it’s not like you can just throw it in a FedEx package and drop it in the mail.)  But I wasn’t even worried about that part.  I was JOYFUL just knowing that what was lost had been found.  I figured it would take a few weeks to make its way home to me in Atlanta.

But our personal miracle wasn’t over yet.  At our celebration dinner on our last night in Guatemala (the Guatemalan Ministry Staff traditionally grills out for us), TG casually strolled up to me and put a plastic bag in my hand.  It was a black bag, so I didn’t immediately make the connection.  But it didn’t take long.  My Bible and my Journal were back in my hands!  I felt like that verse of scripture in Matthew 13:44 that says,  The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.  When a man found it, he hid it again and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.    “How in the WORLD?” I asked her when I finally stopped jumping up and down.  GET THIS.

A 2^nd dentist, (Monica), who occasionally volunteers some of her time to the Ministry, was working with another team out in the villages.  She had called the Ministry Center to ask permission to run a personal errand to the village of San Pablo at the end of the day’s clinic.  Dr. Hermann’s brother (Dietrich) helps coordinate the staff, so he gave her permission to do her errand.  Shortly thereafter, Dietrich was pulled into the communication loop over my missing Bible.  He was allowed to place the last piece into the jigsaw puzzle God was putting together.  When he heard about my Bible, and that it had been found in San Marco... he realized that Monica would be within shouting distance of San Marco as she ran her personal errand.  He just started laughing with joy over how God goes before us and answers our prayers.  He called Monica and asked her to pick up the Bible from the village pastor before returning to the Ministry Center. 

Twenty-Four Hours after praying about my missing Bible, I was clutching it to my chest.  Perhaps having not seen the villages for yourself, you can’t appreciate the magnitude of that miracle.  But I can.  God is personal and loving and He answered the prayer of a weepy mom and two young men who took the time to pray.  The sheer sweetness of it buckled my knees.

You can be cynical if you want to, but I’m sick of not giving God credit for the things He does for me every single day.  I don’t want to live that way anymore.  I want to open my eyes to the workings of my Father in the world around me.  I want to open my eyes in AMERICA.   I want to experience His grace EVERY day, not just for one week in Guatemala.

So as the flight attendants hustle me off this computer, as we make our initial approach back into Hartsfield-Jackson, I want to thank you for praying for us while we were gone.  I value prayer MORE than I did a week ago.  I hope I’ll be able to say that same thing next Friday. 

Clinic 4 - Visual Effects

It's our last night in Guatemala.  It's been an amazing trip, filled with God moments.  There are more stories to tell and more words to write, but tonight I am too weary to blog.  I thought instead I would treat you to the sights of a typical clinic.  You'll see pictures of a pharmacy, counseling stations, doctors in action, the children's program in full swing, the eye clinic, and the dentist giving a hygiene lesson to the kids.  The Guatemalan staff does an amazing job of transporting all these supplies from Point A to Point B!  

Please pray for a safe journey home for all of us tomorrow.  And know that we have prayed faithfully for YOU, our supporters, while we have been here.

Good night everybody!

Keith and Thayer... we're looking forward to airport hugs!!!