Walking Through Faith in Hard Times
December 1-3, 2022
Walking through Faith in Hard Times is challenging, especially when facing illness, fatigue, and uncertainty. In these journal entries from a few days in December 2022, I share my personal experiences of living out faith in hard times each day, trusting God through physical trials, family responsibilities, and daily life challenges.
December 1
4:00 woke to lft shoulder throbbing as if it’s out of joint again. Used restroom. Sinuses congested. Whole body throbbing. Slight headache. Deep breathing
Song: ♫ God on the Mountain ♫
Verses: Joshua 1:9; Ecclesiastes 3:22-23; Psalm 119:165
6:10 off to the hospital. Today is surgery day!!!
Checking in was a breeze. I’m the first patient in the breast cancer center waiting room. Discovered that I forgot to restock my tracts. Ask kids to go get some from the car.
We were in waiting room for a while. Song God on the Mountain came to mind. Told Dezirae that I wanted to hear it. Pulled it up on phone and played the video. My daughter and I began singing it out loud. The nurse came to call me back to the first stage of preparation before we were finished with the song.
I learned later that my family decided to continue singing songs and hymns. The others in the waiting room enjoyed their singing, except one man. He asked one of the nurses if their singing was allowed. She told them yes. Joe says that a few of the people thanked them.
I was able to continue to be a witness throughout the process and was also asked to tell my lightning strike story several times. All the doctors and nurses were very pleasant and helpful. They did an awesome job taking care of me and making sure I was comfortable.
While I was in the prep room waiting to be rolled into surgery, I started getting nervous again and began singing “God on the Mountain” out loud to calm my nerves. I sang it several times. I tried singing a few Christmas hymns but quickly realized I could only remember the first stanzas. Guess what I’m going to learn this season. At one point I closed my eyes to envision sitting on the mountain top with God, and when I opened my eyes, my surgeon was standing at the end of the bed. She about made me cry because she told me that I had beautiful joy and a beautiful voice. I thanked her.
Surgery went well. Surgeon told Joe that she couldn’t find the cancer. She only removed the two lymph nodes that had cancer in them originally, small sample in breast, and removed the trackers. She was amazed how well the treatment worked. Praise the Lord!
Pst – I’ve been using homeopathic and conventional therapy to fight the cancer.
That’s my God!!! He answered prayers in a mighty way. THANK YOU, LORD!!!
#Godisgoodallthetime #Heisable #EveninthevalleyGodisgood
December 2
5:00 been awake for a little bit. Woke needing to use restroom, but I need help getting up. Didn’t want to disturb Joe too early for help. I’m in severe pain. My shoulder is throbbing more than my surgery sites. My urine is Smurf blue from the radioactive dye they used for surgery y’day.
Song: ♫ God on the Mountain ♫
6:00 I hear Dezirae’s up. Decided to get up to be with her before she goes to school.
A friend tagged me in a post sharing a song with me about God being worthy of my song.
Verses: Hebrews 1:1-2; 1 Corinthians 12-14
7:23 Received knock on door. Mail lady delivering packages. Received a gift of baby wipes and blue shorts. No note. Thank you, Lord.
Decided I’m going to try to finish the devotional today.
December 3
6:00 been awake for a couple hours. Didn’t sleep well last night. Feel like I’m burning up but temp is 98.5. Bad headache. Underarm stinging a little. Neuropathy in hands and arms bothersome. Center of chest aches. Sinuses slightly congested. Up three different times in night to use restroom.
Verses: John 6:35; 1 Corinthians 15-16
Decided to work on proofing and finishing the devotional for December. Able to post devotional to blog about midday. Gave myself a headache from focusing too long on same thing. Took ibuprofen.
Guys went for Outreach then hunting. Dezirae stayed home to help keep eye on me. Dezirae took me to store to get juice and count down calendar. They had one left. Thank you, Lord.
Fell asleep in recliner. Slept for about an hour. Could’ve slept longer if I was comfortable. Able to share information about what I have been using to fight cancer with a cancer buddy’s wife and friend today. He’s been battling cancer for two years. Received more happy mail today – chapstick and probiotics. Yay!
Thankful for 1. Able to finish devotional 2. Dezirae was able to finish decorating the tree 3. Joe’s making sure I’m doing the exercises assigned by surgeon
I’m exhausted and wore out. Nasty taste in mouth. Headache. Arms and hands numbish and tingling. Eyes watery. Incision in underarm itches. Rt eyelid twitching. Rt pointer finger knuckle has periodic sharp stabbing pain. Cold.