With her lowered resistance to disease, Nancy had to slip on a surgical mask for our walk through the halls of Abington Hospital last night. It had been a tough few days. But today her fever seems gone and her white blood cells are returning home. We are praying that she can come home tomorrow.
The older we get, the more we are reminded that suffering marks this life. It is fascinating to see how people respond to the nevitable, unpleasant visitation of sorrow. Along the road we have encountered folks embittered by their woes. And then, there are those who emerge from the dark night of the soul tender, merciful still full of love and hope.
This week I was blessed to hear Becky pray for Nancy with compassion and insight, almost a year to the day after she was seperated from her dad by cancer. This morning Art dropped by the hospital to visit Nancy, although that meant revisiting the loss of his first wife years ago. Tonight I came home to find brownies from Andree who chose mercy over self pity to reach out to us.
Each of these dear friends live out Paul's challenging affirmation that "suffering produces perserverance....character and hope....and hope doesn't disappoint us. So, whenever you ask HIM to lift this suffering from our home, entreat HIM to lead us away from bitterness and self absorption toward the avenue of hope expressed in love.
