A PRAYER SHAWL FROM PUERTO RICO/HOW I'M REALLY DOING

Dear Kristy, There are many blessings in this shawl. It started with a prayer and some yarn and the Lord 's presence and encouragement. As it grew, I lifted up prayers and blessings for you. I hope you will know that someone you don't even know cares and thinks of you. Wrap yourself in God's warmth and love entwined in every stitch. Everyone in Jennifer's Bible study class at our church touched the shawl and lifted up a prayer for you. Then we gave it a special blessing. Receive it with our love and prayers. Sincerely, Jan

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In the accompanying letter, the women wrote words of encouragement. Thanks!

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HOW I'M REALLY DOING

Monday evening, January 21:

Many have asked how I'm doing. My photojournaling shows me smiling and busy going to daily radiation treatments. Twenty-six down with four more to go. The side effects have been fatigue, skin changes, and hair loss. If you lift up my hair in the back, you can see my baldness above my fringe of almost-shoulder-length hair. But the top covers it well. Without the top hair, I would look like Benjamin Franklin. Haha. I always admired Ol' Ben. Now I almost look like him. Haha. Just kidding. No need for a wig yet.

I'm busy in the mornings doing office work in my study, filing things, returning phone calls or emails as I'm able, and writing posts/articles for this blog. Then Milton takes me to the cancer center. Sometimes we don't get home until 4:30 or so, and soon after that, the wonderful ladies of our church deliver luscious meals. Tonight, they fixed (Southernese) a big pot of homemade vegetable beef soup, specialty rolls and ham (for soup and sandwiches), and a homemade lemon meringue pie made from the lemons growing in Thelma's yard. It's a wonderful thing to experience this kind of love when you've spent the afternoon in the cancer center seeing bald heads and hearing tragic stories. As a pastor's wife, I've been in cancer centers and hospitals, but never did I think I'd one day be a patient.

The radiation oncologist is winding down my treatment, and the techs started the "boosts" or "coning in," and I've been dealing with headaches and nausea. They had been treating the cancer bed, and now they're shooting the same amount of radiation to a smaller area. This causes brain swelling which causes headaches and nausea.

When the ladies delivered our supper this evening, I told them about this and asked them to pray for me. These side effects left me shortly after they left, and as of this writing, after 10 p.m., they haven't returned. Thank You, Jesus. Proof of how good I feel are the two large slices of lemon meringue pie I ate. I quickly give God the glory.

One day, my father and Aunt Bea were talking. Aunt Bea traveled the world as a missionary evangelist and is now in her nineties. (Yes, our Southern family has an Aunt Bea, besides our Bubba and Nana.) As they talked, my father rubbed his bowed-out, arthritic knee and said, "My knee is feeling better lately. I think it's because of that new arthritis cream--"

"You better give God the glory!" Aunt Bea said, raising her voice and wagging her finger in his face.

She always said if we'd give God the glory (acknowledgement of good things), He'd do more for us.

I haven't driven since before the surgery. It's a humbling thing to be driven everywhere you go. Fortunately, I don't need to go many places. :) Church, pharmacy, cancer center, grocery store. Before this happened, I kept regular office hours in my study, writing and researching for the stories I write for Barbour Publishing. I look forward to getting back to this schedule very soon.

I ordered Florida-grown Sugar Baby tangeloes and ruby red grapefruit for my literary agent today. I called to tell him they're on their way. Then I told him I plan to return to my writing and finish "the story of my heart."

My neurosurgeon said if I'm itching to drive, I can, but he doesn't recomment it, with my right one-quarter periphereal vision loss in both eyes. This was the first and only symptom of brain cancer which turned up during a routine eye exam.

Only weeks ago, I couldn't be left alone.

Five weeks ago, I couldn't read.

Six weeks ago, I couldn't write.

Nine weeks ago, I lay in a hospital bed, incoherent and out of my mind with pain.

What is the Bible verse about God restoring what the canker worm ate?

God has restored all of this to me.

And I'm grateful.