Mountains and Valleys

Today was a return to reality for me.

I spent an amazing weekend in the mountains with my brother and my sister-in-law doing all kinds of fun things and just hanging out... We went off roading up and down gravel roads hanging on the edges of mountains, we walked a little (it was just a little, but still...) bit of the Appalachian Trail, hung out by mossy rocked mountain streams with waterfall after waterfall, hung out by rivers with tumbling rapids, watched fireworks from the roof of their truck, watched a drum circle, made little rock sculptures, had great conversations, took naps........

Here are a few pictures:

Then today, I came back to radiation.

The good news is that it has already dramatically reduced the pain in my hip, thank God. I was really, really excited Friday to be able to take a short walk up and down a steep hill with NO pain. Today I had a little bit of pain but not too much.

The other news is that the radiation is messing with my body in some unpleasant ways. I’ll spare you the details. I met with my Doctor today and he had some ideas for managing the side effects. So that’s good. The side effects will most likely get worse over this week before they hopefully get better over the weekend. Then, I’ll hopefully just have two radiation treatments next Monday and Tuesday...

And, to balance out my uber-excitement about being able to walk comfortably, the piece of junk in my neck has been hurting more for the last couple days. My plan is to ignore it as much as possible and hope the pain is temporary and stays fairly mild...

So, this is life; some really awesome stuff, some annoying stuff. Please pray that I would stay focused on the awesome stuff and that the annoying stuff wouldn’t become overwhelming... Please pray that I would remember that God loves us like this:

"But you, O Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,

I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, 'You are my servant';
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

"All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.

Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.

For I am the LORD, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.

Do not be afraid...
O little Israel,
for I myself will help you," declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 41:8-20