Facing Giants and feeling Thankful about it



"You have cancer."  Three words you  hope you never hear from your doctor. Dan heard those words while watching the kids and I at the pool 4 days after his surgery. The word cancer seems to have so much negative power. It knocked the words right out of Dan, and we all know that's a hard thing to do. Dan's pathology report revealed that his 4 "nodules" were in fact a multinodular papillary carcinoma. Thyroid Cancer. To be completely honest with all of you following along on our journey, I had a gut feeling that he had cancer the entire time. That's why I found the song "Giant's Fall" to be so comforting, I knew we were about to face the Cancer Giant. So, after more tests, scans and visits to an Endocrinologist and an Oncologist here we sit, feeling so very thankful that one of Dan's students had the curiosity and courage to ask about the lump he saw on Dan's neck. We have been told that Papillary Carcinoma is one of the "best cancers" to get. Isn't that a funny sounding sentence? There is a very high cure rate and as the oncologist said "you will likely die from something other than this cancer." So, what next? Here is what we know: Treatment for this type of cancers is surgery and then Radioactive Iodine Ablation treatment.  Dan had a CT scan that showed no lymph node involvement, but a 4 mm "spot" on his right lung. The spot is "most likely benign", but to investigate further he'll have a nuclear medicine total body thyroid scan, along with the radioactive iodine treatment this week. So, other than feeling a bit tired and having to be isolated from the kids and me for the week we are feeling so very very thankful. It could have entailed so much more, yet God has used this part of our journey to show us again, we are not in control and when we TRUST He will take care of us. The times we grow the most, are the times that are the hardest.

The Bible tells us in James 1: 2-3: "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow."

So, here we are, counting it all as joy as we learn from another trial and feeling abundantly thankful for the eyes to see God's presence in our lives.

You all know how much I feel God uses music to speak to me and I feel that our songs become our prayers. This beautiful song couldn't be more fitting for this story God has woven together.

Give me faith like Daniel in the lion's den
Give me hope like Moses in the wilderness
Give me a heart like David, Lord be my defense
So I can face my giants with confidence

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