This morning was my last Sunday in Lubbock, before moving to San Antonio next weekend.
Our new rector is awesome! He and my pastor in San Antonio know each other and were,
in fact, "next door neighbors" for ten years there. Anyway, David (our rector) called me to the
altar from the choir loft during announcements and explained to the congregation that I would
be going back to San Antonio to be around my family while undergoing treatment for the lesions
in my head and the pituitary gland. And then the next amazing experience, next to the annointing
and laying of hands that the Cursillo community did a few weeks ago, happened. David had me
kneel at the communion rail, he anointed my head with oil and layed his hands on my head and
said a prayer. It was really special! I was o.k. until then; I had been choking back tears all morning.
But then I stood up, made eye contact with the choir that I was about to conduct and fell apart. We
made it through the anthem, though. It is such a wonderful and amazing blessing that God has
provided me with a church family here. Whatever happens in the next few months with treatment plans,
which will actually be started on my trip to Dallas on August 3rd, God has surrounded me with prayer
partners all around.
Hope all goes well. I have an uncle who is having problems somewhere in his head. He has been having horrible headaches for I do not know how long. You have always been in my prayers, as I ask God to bless EVERYBODY on this earth. Why only pray for the people that you know and love? No maybe this time, Greg.
We had a visitor for our college reunion at church from down there: Dean, our former campus minister. He's doing that sort of thing at one of the churches of Christ down there in Lubbock.
I can immagine what it feels like to leave your church family to move on. At least, you have another church family that is ready to recieve you.
We had considered moving on, but not only no-where to go, but a church family to leave behind. so we stay. What God has in mind for us is as much a mystery as it was ten years ago!
Looks like you are not going to have much time to unpack before hitting the treatments!
Just as well, get it over with! You seem to be a strong lady and we are very happy, yes, proud, to have you on our team!
May Lord God bless you and keep, you. May his countanance shine upon you and give you peace.
Boyd,
I read a devotional today while I was waiting to have my glasses fixed (I knocked them
off my face this afternoon with a box. They look good now, but my face doesn't).
Anyway, I thought of what you wrote in your post to me about being in Greensboro for
ten years and not knowing what God had in mind yet. That's something I'm trying to
discern myself about the lesions and pituitary gland and my doctorate.
This devotional reads in part:
"We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself. What is my vision of God's purpose for me? Whatver it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish -- His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see 'Him walking on the sea' with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see 'Him walking on the sea.' It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern outselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself. God's purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious."
By the way, the verse attached is Mark 6:45.
Kind of goes back to the idea of letting go and letting God. He has a plan for each of us, but instead of looking in the future for it, we're supposed to see the plan for today, which for me is patience, always patience. And then to stop being a backseat driver to God. That's hard to do, though.
Just thought you'd like this.
I'm so pleased that you received that call today for the job in Winston-Salem. I realize that it is a long trip considering gas prices, but I'm so happy that something has come along for you. I pray that the drive there and back each day will be safe for you. That will soon be my problem in San Antonio, the drive everywhere. One teaching job is on the complete opposite side of town that my folks live in so it takes me a good 45 minutes or more to get there.
Its really great to see you moving on and getting out of a bad apartment situation. I kept getting the feeling that you may have been also been stressed about the possibility of your landlord always walking in on you. Just reading your posts made me feel creepy about the guy. Even my wife could read bad things into the situation just by me relaying to her your situation. Mental stress can have an extreme negative affect on your health...physical as well as mental. The down side, of course is that you have to leave your church and close friends.
However, I'm very gratified that your pastor chose to anoint you with oil as well as laying hands on you. I join my wife when she gets out the oil and we go from door to door...inside and out...anointing our home and saying a quick prayer at each door as we place our hands on them. We both seem to have the gift of discernment in that we can actually feel the evil leave our home through us. It looks like you had a great release yourself at church and were able to let go of feelings that were bound up in you.
However, its a new beginning and the good news is that you've found this group, these people, have prayers from all over the world for you and are embracing nudism as a healing force and not something dirty or evil.
I sure appreciate the thoughts and prayers from all of you, and Boyd's
use of Simeon's blessing which is part of our benediction each Sunday.
I sent good friends and my goddaughter off yesterday to begin a new
adventure in Haskell, TX, as he becomes a youth minister instead of of
a manager at Fuddrucker's. It was a sad afternoon in that we won't see
each other for a while hopefully on longer than about six weeks), but
a neat day to God at work as they senior pastor at their new church
came with two youth to help load the truck and pack up. I think I've
sent them off in good hands.
So now I turn to my push in packing and getting ready to leave. I appreciate
the prayers for the move and for hopefully beginning treatment soon. I'm
anxious, but somewhat excited about seeing this new doctor in Dallas next
week. He sent me a letter yesterday that basically said we were not going to
give up finding some kind of treatment to get rid of these lesions, do
something with the pituitary and all the symptoms, including the headaches.
He also told me we'd try one treatment and if that didn't help we'd try something
else, including surgery. I'm not comfortable with that thought because I
know how close these lesions are to facial nerves and the left optic nerve, but
I guess we leave that in HIS hands too, eh? I need those facial nerves to
continue playing my horn which I'm not ready to give up anytime soon.
But again I appreciate all of you and your prayers. I head into a few unknown
waters this weekend, even when it comes to dealing with family, but I also know
that HE is with me, so we'll get through this together. I also go knowing that
people here on the forum and people here at my church and at school are praying
for me and I've been annointed twice and had hands layed on me. That was
two times when I really could feel God's presence in an intimate way.
And perhaps as Terry said, it's good that I'm getting out from under my landlord.
Even in the past week there have been times that I was upset and angry with
him.
