How Waiting Brings Courage and Strength

We wait for a lot of things in life. We wait for payday hoping we haven't overdrawn our bank account once again.  We wait for Christmas Day to arrive full of brown paper packages, pretty bows, and stockings full. We wait for babies to be born and everyone knows that babies arrive only when babies are ready to arrive.  We wait for test results and agonize over the what-if questions that loom over us. We wait for the red lights to turn green.  We wait for the right job, the right guy or gal,  We wait in line at the grocery store and tell our children, just wait as they beg and whine for candy. We wait for loved ones to pass into eternity and end their earthly pilgrimage. We wait. We wait for a lot of things.  We wait for God to speak to us in the waiting. But why are we so impatient in the waiting?

This last week has been a hard one. It has been seven days since my mastectomy surgery.  On the third day of my recovery, I found out that my father slipped into eternity to forever be with the Lord. Deep sadness and grief flooded my heart.  We knew the time was coming, so we were waiting. It wasn't a surprise. Truly it was an answer to prayer as my Dad had been unable to walk since last November. My Dad was 89 years old. I have many fond memories of my Dad growing up as a child as well as my adult married years. He will be missed greatly.

In the waiting for my own healing this week I have been doing some deep pondering. It's a good thing. To wait is to stay or delay action until a particular time comes or something changes in your circumstances. I've been told to wait and heal. Just rest, sleep, and basically do nothing until the next doctor's appointment. This has struck me differently this time around. There is a purpose in the waiting: patience. 

Patience is having the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. I certainly can think of many times I have not had patience. Delay is similar to waiting for something to happen that you can't control. Delay also eludes to something late or happening slowly. As a basketball coach, one thing I really get frustrated with players is a lack of hustle. Do it right, do it now, and do it fast. I don't like waiting around for the girls to put the balls up on the rack. Run and put your ball away and return to the location instructed. Patience is a learned character trait. I must continue to work on that.

I've learned that God can handle the hurt, pain, and hard questions we have. You have to train for marathons. This life journey we are living is like a marathon.  You never know when you might find yourself in a season of waiting.  So you have to train like you aren't in a marathon so that when the hard waiting comes you are ready. Storms reveal foundations. Build a foundation that can't be washed away. God won't waste your pain. 

"And we know that all things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Know this: your strength will fail you. You can't do it on your own strength, merit, or will. Nope! Here is where it gets so interesting. God knows this about us. He knows we are weak. He knows we will lose hope. But God provides a way for us to find courage and strength in the midst of waiting - waiting in the storms of life full of death, heartache, pain, suffering, you name it. So what do you do in this desperate time?

You wait on the Lord.

But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength:

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

Isiah 40:31

Friends I hope you find as much courage and strength in those words as I do. This season of waiting is full of waiting on the Lord. Just waiting. 

 "It takes courage to keep dreaming when the circumstances that surround you make it seem as though your life is more like a nightmare loop than a dream come true." Jordan Lee Dooley

Post Surgery Update

The surgery went very well on Monday, April 18, 2022.  The entire team of doctors and nurses were wonderful at Washington University, Barnes-Jewish, and the Center for Advanced Medicine. They were very caring and asked lots of questions to ensure I was comfortable with what they were doing.  My surgery lasted about 3 hours.  I spent most of the day in recovery.  We were discharged late afternoon and stayed in a hotel overnight. We made it overnight and went home late morning.  Glad to be back home with my family.  

The pain associated with this surgery is rather intense.  We are keeping up with medications and I'm not allowed to do really anything but lay down or sit on the couch.  I still have the drain tubes in on both sides and they require attention every few hours.  Today -- is Thursday -- I'm losing track of the days! I was able to take a shower and wash my hair.  That felt really good. I am very tired, very sore, and in a foggy state of mind.  I know in time it will get better.

I appreciate all the messages and encouraging words.  I'm not up to visitors just yet. If you are wanting to help out with a meal or donation please email me or message me.  I have been keeping my phone on silent so I can sleep.  I will get back to you when I am available.

At this point, we are just waiting for the pathology reports to be completed.  I hope to hear something by Friday but it may just be next week.  I will travel back to St. Louis on Tuesday, April 26 for the drain tubes to be removed and to see the plastic surgeon doctor.  

Thank you for all your prayers! 

It's About Time: Real Time

What is it about time?  Twenty-four hours a day. Three-hundred and sixty-five days a year. We all have the same amount of time in a day to spend. It seems to be slipping away day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second. I've been asking myself many questions about my time.  How am I spending it?  What do I spend my time on? Who do I spend my time with? Where do I spend my time?

Time off

    Time out

            Time in

                Timeframe

                    Timekeeper

                        Timecards

                            Timesaving

                                Timelines

                                    Timeless

Around my neck of the woods were are waiting for the grass to grow.  We measure time by the seasons and we predict that the climate would be warm(er) than it is this April. The cattle are hungry and no grass will grow with the cold temperatures. It gets a start and then frost comes and burns it back.  We are buying time, hoping the grass grows as we empty the hay from the barn.  It will get warmer, and the grass will grow. Maybe the grass will grow just in time. Do we wait it out and let time keep ticking day after day, or do we sell down the herd? Time will tell.

Time is ticking away...tick...tick...tick

Driving to a game

The music industry has had some popular songs including "time" in the title.Sometimes we wish we could go back in time.  Turn the clocks back to the "good old days."  What are those anyway? I remember when my boys were little.  The days of diapers, naps, and sleepless nights.  But now it is rushing from one sporting event to another, staying up late to finish geometry, and getting up early for another practice.  The tires on my truck see more of the road and I see less of my pillow.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Quality time together is what we all crave and need. It costs me my time. Lots of time spent in the truck driving. We spend time together as a family and these moments are the memories I want my kids to have with them when they leave the nest. Memories of Mom and Dad sacrificing their time to make time for them.  We can buy our kids all the latest gadgets but really what they want is quality time with us. 

The music industry has given us many songs written about time.  List of 100 songs with "time" in the title. Here is a list of 10 of them:

1. “One Moment in Time” by Whitney Houston

2. “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper

3. “Love me Two Times” by The Doors

4. “Time is on my Side” by The Rolling Stones

5. “Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is?” by Chicago

6. “Time of my Life” by David Cook

7. “Any Time at all” by The Beatles

8. “Too Much Time on my Hands” by Styx

9. “Big Time” by Peter Gabriel

Baseball Practice

10. “One Time” by Justin Bieber

The list goes on and on. You get the point. I keep going back to the beginning of time. To the One who created time, holds time, and makes time. What is time anyway? Can you define it? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, time is defined as a) the measured period in which an action, process, or condition exists or continues: duration. b) a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events that succeed one another from past through present future.               

To me, it seems that time is both passing me by and standing still.  It's as if I can see my life the way I think it should be happening but I'm outside of time.  I'm on some sort of timewarp frozen in time.  It's like a giant stopwatch is running on one lap but I'm stuck on the sideline just watching. I don't want to miss anything.  I want to be present, at the moment, right now enjoying it all.  That is what I intend to do -- cancer and all.  I want to live in real-time. Carpe Diem. 

How to Slow Down Time (Taken from this article)

Outside of taking a trip into space, and away from Earth's gravity well, there is a way to slow down time – at least from your own perspective. This has nothing to do with the physics and nature of time itself, but how fast or slow life feels to each of us.

Some researchers say that exposing yourself to new experiences or environments can actually make time seem to pass slower. This may be to do with the amount of information our brains have to take in and process – when we're young or learning something new, the world seems to slow down. As we get older and get into a routine, the days and years seem to speed by.

Unless you have a spacecraft, none of this is going to make you age any slower (sorry), but knowing that time is a little more bendy than many of us think it is can be a reminder that we have our own ability to alter our perception of how fast the days pass - if only a little.

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

So maybe this second go-around with cancer will help me to slow down time in my own life.  If I can only remember to take more time to process everything that is happening!  We have a fascination with time. So much to do and so little time. Speaking of time I am almost to my surgery time! Many have asked how they can help me and my family out and I wanted to share that here. I am thankful for health insurance and a job to support the grand expense of surgery, hospital stay, doctor fees, and the list goes on.  We will have travel costs of fuel and lodging. The hospital is 3 hours from home for me. If you feel like helping that is great, but please do not feel obligated.  I appreciate your kind words of encouragement and prayers. For those of you that are local (in Missouri), we do have a few folks helping to arrange meals. Please send me an email if you want to help with that.  Another idea is to send gift cards from local restaurants.  I will not be driving for about 4-6 weeks and will rely on my husband and oldest son to pick up items for our family.

A savings account has been set up in the name of Anna Luhers at West Plains Bank and Trust. Deposits can be made in Anna's name to any local area branch. If you are not from Missouri you can reach the bank here: WPBT  Any questions regarding financial donations please reach out to Lisa Pruett @ lpruett@liberty.mvbt.k12.mo.us.  

"To everything, there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

LMS Dance "Hollywood Night"