Brenda

There is nothing like a picture of a child to see a picture of God's love.

Brenda is Terry's little sister. As I look at Brenda's baby picture I can easily see how darling a baby she was. A few years ago Terry's mom gave me a copy of Brenda's baby picture and at the time, though I was happy to have a copy I never dreamt I would have cause to display it in this way.

A few weeks ago, Brenda called Terry's mom to tell her that she once again had received difficult news at the doctors office. Several years ago Brenda successfully battled Hodgkin's Disease which in itself was difficult.

I know that every single person reading this post will relate to the shudder that you feel when you hear of someone close that has been directly affected by the word cancer. Perhaps you have become somewhat desensitized to yet another person receiving this diagnosis, that would be almost understandable, since we hear of it nearly every day.

This post however is directed to those who would be willing to stand by our family as we hold Brenda before the Lord. She will be facing a double mastectomy within the next month. The date that has been set is August 21.

As with most surgeries of this nature, you can imagine that Brenda together with her husband Rik will have difficult days ahead of them.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 1 Peter 5:7

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.

If you would, please join our family in praying that our Heavenly Father will reveal his vast and unfailing love to Rik and Brenda during these troublesome days. The wait seems to go on and on when you are waiting for test results, and surgeries and then of course treatments, if that is what is decided.

It is our hearts cry that the Lord who is our great physician, touch her body and give her complete healing. That is our desire. We trust Him to care for her in ways that we could never imagine. We have an amazing God, and we know that He is able to do more than we could ever imagine.

We are thankful for Rik and his love for his wife. He will continue to stand beside Brenda and love her and support her during this time. If you would, pray also for Rik, that God will give him the courage and strength and the right words to care for Brenda. As you can well imagine, it is hard to watch someone you love walk through this.

We are thankful that this was found early.

We are thankful for the doctors and nurses who will again care for her.

They have agreed to share their story and I thank them both for their willingness to be open in their need of prayer.

Terry and I have found ourselves a few times in the place where we find we must humble ourselves and ask our friends and family to pray for us, and we have always been amazed at how enveloped in love we have felt.

As the Lord brings Brenda to mind, please lift her up before the Lord however you feel led.

Thank you. I'll keep you posted.