Full Joy!

Psalm16:11

¹¹    You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Today I got results from my semi-annual pet scan.  The words from the oncologist were music to my ears,  “the scan is ALL CLEAR”.  For all of my friends and family who have had cancer, you know how anxious you get before this kind of check-up.  I felt confident that everything was okay, but the report that there are no signs of cancer provides a sense of relief and a feeling of joy.

I am thankful that there are no signs of cancer, however; I am still dealing with side effects due to the treatment of radiation and chemo therapy.  I had a lot of scar tissue in my larynx area.  That creates dry mouth, cracked voice and I have had my esophagus stretched five times since thanksgiving.  The results have been helpful, but it appears that I will never have the original size of that area in my throat.  The physician was able to almost double the size it was when we started but needed to stretch about one third more to get it normal.  I am swallowing and eating somewhat better, but I still struggle with some of the medicines that I have to take.

I have also developed neuropathy in my feet and standing for long periods of time often becomes painful.  I received some new medication and I am hoping that it helps.

Janette and I felt led by God to become a part of Paramount Baptist Church.  It felt like home from the first day we visited.  Janette has got involved with the ESL classes and also a ladies Bible Study.  I am beginning to teach in the small group ministry of the church.   We had a wonderful winter Bible conference with great speakers  H.B. Charles,  Danny Forshee  and Nick Maddux.   We love our pastor Andrew Hebert and his family.  His preaching is with a solid communication and his exegesis of the scripture is spot on.

It doesn’t matter where we live; the same problems and opportunities exist.  We live in a broken world and each of us deal with different issues and have questions directed toward God.  The word “why” seems to be the most common question.  Why does God allow suffering in our lives?  Why does life seem so unfair to some?  For me the answer always lies in the future and not the present.  God guides my path; he always has my best interest in His plan.  He will always reveal that path and ultimately it leads to eternity with Him.  That is the funny thing about growing older,  I seem to think about eternal things more than I did when I was younger.

Catch the last phrase of Psalm 16:11 “at your right hand are pleasures forevermore”. Heaven and eternity with the father will not be a dull place.  We will finally know the fullness of peace, joy, gentleness and….. well, you get the picture.   The broken world seems to only think on death, disease, and disunity.  Heaven will be none of those things.  We will experience the fullness of life with the pleasures of heaven as only heaven can provide.  As much as we try to explain the beauty and wonder of heaven, our words always fall short. The best we can do is long for the truth that God offers the fullness of joy and the pleasures of heaven for eternity.

We live in a world full of hurt and pain.  Genuine peace and true joy is only found in the presence of God.  It is my hope, it is my desire to know and experience all of that and as much of that that I can while living in this world.  When I pass from this world I will fully experience it for eternity.

Once again I want to say thank you to everyone that has prayed for me and continues to do so.  Please add my friends Jim and Ruth Monroe to your prayer list.  Ruth is in the midst of cancer treatment.   Jim and I served together on staff at FSBC Liberal, KS.  He and his family are still my dearest friends.

JOY IN CHRIST