24 Days

It was been 24 days since Noah's tumor was discovered, 21 days since his tumor resection, and 13 days since we've been back home. The past three days have felt (almost) normal! Saturday we laid around most of the day, did a little shopping, had some friends over. Sunday John was back in the saddle leading worship and Noah made it through the entire service. We had lunch with my family at my grandparent's, then took a fun family outing to the big city of Huntsville. :) Today was Noah's 6 month check up at the ENT; ear tubes are still in, and they look great. Praise God for that! He is doing MUCH better with allowing "outsiders" into our home, and going into large groups of people. When we first came home from the hospital even familiar faces (grandmothers, aunts & uncles, etc.) would cause him to panic and cling to me. I'm so glad that is over and he feels safe again. Hopefully John and I will be able to leave him with my mom on Thursday for our 4th anniversary dinner. :) 
Today Noah began to have a little hop in his step, as if he is trying to run. He's moving pretty quickly now. It's amazing to see when I think about where we were 25 days ago, wondering what was wrong with him. We are still waiting on the definitive pathology report from Johns Hopkins, and the LP results. I'm praying those will be ready when we go back to Children's this Wednesday for Dr. B. to check out his arm.   
 Today I have a little girl (EB) on my mind...she also was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and was still in the PICU on Friday after a surgery complication. Please pray for EB. A man from church, Bobbie Lassie, is awaiting results from a CT scan...there was a mass discovered on the R side of his brain. Please pray for him also. I trust God will work miracles in both these situations.
"God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). Over the past 24 days I have experienced a myriad of emotions...one of them being fear/anxiety. But each time this feeling tried to take over, I was reminded of this verse. I knew I had to have a clear head to share with John in the decision making process. The Lord has reassured me so many times of His sovereignty, even in the midst of chaos and confusion. The devotion I read today reminded me that we need not fear "because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). If I attempt to look too far into the future, I become overwhelmed with "what-ifs" and begin to loose my head. I just keep telling myself to take it one or two days at a time. Right now Noah is sticking a plastic drum stick up his nose, and shouting, "ho, ho, ho!" I'm praying that he will still be able to do these things after we start chemotherapy. But I'm not going to worry about or fear the upcoming treatment. I may be tempted to, but that is just a thought I can take captive and put out of my mind. (Remind me I said that!) I don't know what is causing your fear or anxiety today, but no matter how "big" or "small" it may be, you can take that thought captive and cast it into the sea. Ask God to lead, and think of those two scriptures above with me, and we'll kick the enemy, together, right in the face. I hope everyone has an amazing week! We will post a blog as soon as we hear anything about the reports. God bless!