IN DEATH'S WAITING ROOM

JOY: The title of this post/article is: "In Death's Waiting Room." IT'S NOT WHERE I AM. I'm only quoting a phrase from the Bible (The Message; Isaiah 38) which tells the story of King Hezekiah's miraculous healing. At the end of this, you'll see why I chose this title.

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Recently in church, Pastor Mike asked the children to come forward and do the motions to a song. (After the praise and worship, Milton speaks a blessing over the children and releases them to children's church.) As the children sang, my feet would NOT keep still, and soon, they carried me to them. We "danced" and sang and did the motions to "Waves of mercy, waves of grace, everywhere I look, I see your face."

Though this picture was taken in November on the night before my surgery, I'm still acting this way! :) As I've taken the 27 of the 30 radiation treatments, the people at the cancer center told my daughters they're surprised I'm: 1) not staggering, 2) not having speech problems, and 3) have only lost part of my hair.

"It doesn't surprise me," said our daughter Jennifer. "It's so typical of you that you are doing better than what they expected. You're strong, Mom. God made you that way. You're unique and special."

Monday, for the first time, I found out the GBM brain cancer isn't contained to the left side only. It "satellites" to the right side through "tubes." When the doctor said this, the same cloud of peace descended on me as the one that descended on me during my diagnosis.

"I don't think the prognosis applies to you, Mom," Jennifer said.

I'm living proof of that (scroll down and read yesterday's post). Thank You, Lord.

"Mom," she said, "this has been a roller coaster ride for us. The questions come to me: should I be feeling grieved that you're going to die? Or joy and elation that you're going to be healed? I've experienceed two extremes of emotions, but most of the time I've feltl numb. I've been asking God, 'What's going to happen to Mom? To us? How is this going to end?'"

Then she said the Lord led her to 1 Corinthians 2:9: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."

She said, "The Lord said, 'Don't worry about it. It's going to be good, Mom."

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HEZEKIAH...When I received the diagnosis November 7, Milton and I drove straight to the Wednesday night prayer meeting. He thought I would want to go home for quiet reflection or talk about this staggering news. But I wanted to be in the house of the Lord surrounded by faith-filled folks.

I told the congregation of my diagnosis, and they gathered around me and prayed. Tears flowed. Words of comfort and assurance came.

At that prayer meeting, Carlos, a deacon, said the Lord was going to extend my life. He briefly told the story of how King Hezekiah asked God to extend his life. Carlos said God was going to extend mine.

At the prayer meeting this past Saturday night, Carlos said he "saw" into my head. He "saw" an area that looked like raw liver. "They weren't normal brain cells," he said. When he looked again, it was like a surgeon had removed them, and then he "saw" normal brain cells. Shortly after, he "saw" that the area had been replaced with normal brain cells.

I believe this. My faith is strong. But if my faith was only the size of a mustard seed, it would be okay, because Jesus said thats all we need. "Lord, bring on more good things!"

The photo above shows Carlos's family singing In All of His Glory during the Christmas season. Left to right: Carlos, Jr., who's majoring in music at Southeastern University; Carlos, Sr.; Isabel; and Rosabel, who's majoring in architecture at Florida Atlantic University. As they sang, Milton was so excited. He was going to preach on the subject, "God's Glory," and it was a confirmation to him.

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HEZEKIAH...Two weeks ago, Jennifer's Bible study was about divine healing and the story of King Hezekiah. "I thought it was neat that Hezekiah asked God for more time and He gave it," she said. "This story is for you, Mom."

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HEZEKIAH...My brother Terry told me to read the story and apply it to my life, and I wrote about it.

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HEZEKIAH...In the Comments Section, some have told me to read this story, saying they're praying that God will extend my life.

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HEZEKIAH: "In the very prime of life, I have to leave," King Hezekiah said. "Whatever time I have left is spent in death's waiting room."

But the picture changed!


"God saves and will save me," he said. "As fiddlers and mandolins strike up the tunes, we'll sing, oh, we'll sing, for the rest of our lives."

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I'm kicking up my heels and singing for joy.