Abasting and Aboundment--words I don't use often

This week in review with a re-arranged Philippians 4:

12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Then later in the week:

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I’m praying to be here:

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

And somehow in the middle of things:

13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I began the week with the photo treatment of my blood. This was a tougher process than I imagined because of the sheer length of the process and the intense involvement of the nurse, but I feel like now I am kind of in the groove and know how to prepare better to pass the time in more productive ways. Patient education is very important to the nursing staff, so I am told every few minutes (literally) where we are in the process. I would rather not be involved, actually. I would rather mend, read, or type without knowing what my white blood cells are doing. Disgusting. Ugh. This was a kick in the gut, and thankfully, my sweet friend Julie was here after the toughest times to distract me and kept me from completely losing it, knowing that there are many more of these days ahead. Such a sweet spirit.

[Today the treatment went a bit faster, and tomorrow, probably, I will be on a brand new machine that should cut down the time by several hours! This is very, very good news, and I calculated (I didn’t really do the math because I don’t like to, but I figure) that it would save literally days over time. Days!]

On Thursday, we left for Waco to see the family, and those were good times. I made all sorts of pledges to my children about ways we would spend time together. On Friday, we closed on the new property (yea!), and we were to spend Saturday morning there climbing trees (okay, probably not me—I don’t go above 2 feet), playing in the dirt and throwing rocks in the river-can it get any better? We then got several frantic phone calls from Dallas saying that I needed to return ASAP to begin an IV antiviral drug. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. It was all due to a misunderstanding in-between the office folk (oh, yeah, and because I need the drug to be healthy-still working on that perspective…). Van quickly checked out a new baby at the hospital and we picked up ice cream just so I could watch Zane eat it—that boy loves chocolate. Van and I were able to wait until Cade was out of school so that we could say goodbye to him, and we left my parents yet again with all three children, one wailing. We did have a few minutes for Van to swing by Taco Bell (never, ever...ever again) while I grabbed the fussiest little fur clearance vests from the outlet mall (matching!) for my nieces. That took the edge off for some stupid reason, and then my frustration was mostly at Taco Bell.

We arrived in Dallas. A courier from Walgreens arrived at the apartment with a giant box of medical supplies and the IV drug, and about 8:00pm, a home health nurse arrived. We endured a grueling process of paperwork and instructions about hand washing(!). I can out-handwash her any day. She was incredibly nice, but it was very humbling. I think the hard part was that she didn't know my history, my abilities, and was not familiar with my treatments or drugs--very, very few people are. Van was so patient, and we got through it. So now I have my very own personal IV pole that I will use for the next 2.5 weeks, and I get to do medical stuff which I just LOVE. Fun…..oh, where is that whatever is true, whatever is noble….

Saturday was actually quite enjoyable. Van and I went to the Dallas Farmers’ Market and bought beautiful produce from vendors. Little cucumbers, pineapple, red peppers…just gorgeous. I’ve been buying from Target, so it was divine. Van went into a neat little fly fishing store and bought a little 4 piece fly rod for backpacking that was made locally. It is so cute. I can’t tell you how excited that I am that it will fit in a suitcase on an airplane! Yee-haw! Van ate Julie’s enchiladas for breakfast, lunch and snacks with fresh avocado from the farmer’s market and was in heaven. He was an addict. Saturday was a good day.

Mom and Dad are amazing with the kids and are exploring every inch in Waco. Mom got very excited about the water spray parks, and when they took the kids to ride bikes on Saturday and saw that one was working, they let them get in with their clothes on. It made a big impression on Avi. “I got wet!!!!!” Good stuff. I bugged my parents to death about watching the shuttle launch with Zane and Avi. I was so excited. Zane’s only comment, “It fell apart.” Great. The kiddos are getting some really neat time with their grandparents. Oh, and they did get to go to the new property and hang out! I can’t thank God enough for the beautiful relationship that he has formed in my family. Very thankful. I loved growing up with my grandmother.

Zane and Avi told me about the hot air balloon that went over the house. Zane was impressed with the loud noise that it can make with the fire, and Avi said, “It was wight dere! It was wight dere! It was so pwetty!” Cade informed me that he, "ate cow... a brisket... It is called BBQ," for supper. Oh, and that he, "will be the caboose, not the line leader tomorrow." Very important job. I'm thankful for friends that shared photos and video from the Parent's Day Out program! An unexpected blessing for the day!

We’re attempting to make the shift towards more time with the kiddos on the weekend and more independence for me. This sounds crazy given that I’m booked with so many appointments during the week—especially after the developments of late, but with my energy, it makes sense to start a bigger transition. It just is time. Also, the new treatments seem to be the plan of action going into the summer, so we feel confident that I’m on the road to healing and that there shouldn’t be any more big surprises. It seems like we are less day-by-day and more able to plan for the somewhat-tough-but-oh-so-much-better couple of months ahead.

Tomorrow holds hanging out with Renee with an attempt at Martha Stewart's chocolate creme brulee, learning how to broil steak and sewing projects. We're being domestic. Hopefully a new-and-improved photo treatment machine will make its debut in the afternoon. Not too bad!

The ebb and flow of life really makes me think about where I put my trust. A new friend asked me what she can specifically pray for. Today, I think I would ask to be off of steroids quicker than projected. I'm blowing up like a Willy Wonka movie, and I know that they are healing in some ways but holding me back from healing in other ways.

Another goody from Philippians:

23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.