6 Days and counting...(this is a long one) By Jey Willis As I type this, Matthew has already completed his radiation for the day. So, that means he has 6 days remaining for radiation...Praise The Lord!!! Last week was mostly good for all of us. Matthew did have some sickness from the chemo and some side effects from the radiation, but I have to admit that we know God is protecting our son. Matthew has been spared for the most from all of the really bad stuff that seems to happen from chemo and radiation. He continues to be my biggest hero. That is right...my 14 year old son has influenced me so much. His attitude is so cool to watch, the nurses love how sweet and funny he is...even while being sick, his doctors are amazed at how well he has done, many of our friends comment on how strong he is, all of our family have been impressed with his attitude, and all this happening as Matthew simply takes it in stride. It has been amazing to watch his faith and trust that all is going to be fine. I am humbled by how strong our son has been and continue to be in awe of his smile, laughing, and positive attitude. Matthew, God is going to continue to do so much amazing stuff in your life. All you have to do is listen to Him...He will show you...He will guide you...He will be honored by you. We had a somewhat restful weekend. Matthew got up Saturday morning and was not feeling well enough to go to Athens, so he and I stayed around the house. Lauren was at a Yearbook Conference, and Casi was at a fundraiser luncheon for C.U.R.E., so Matthew had a friend come over and we watched the Dawgs defeat Tennessee. Go Dawgs!!! We got up Sunday and did Sunday School and worship, had lunch with friends, went to see Lauren play in a powder puff football game, I went to a mission trip meeting, and then headed home to spend some much needed fellowship time with some of our closest friends. God has truly been so good to us, and we praise Him for all He has done for us during this trial. One of my email devotions this morning was from Romans 15:4, and it says, For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Casi and I...and Lauren and Matthew know that God is using this trial to teach us something. Admittedly, that is something that is hard to grasp, hard to see, and hard to comprehend at times. In fact, understanding what God is trying to teach us is hard to appreciate and even aggravating at times as it extremely difficult to figure out. But we know, above all, that hope...hope due to the salvation that Jesus gave us through his death WILL NEVER GO AWAY. Our story...the story of Jey, Casi, Lauren, and Matthew is one that is rooted in a love for Jesus Christ. We know that we are called to be like Christ in everything we do. We know that many times, others will see Christ in us, and there are other times they may not. Casi and I hope and pray that as others see Christ in our son, and as others see Christ in the rest of our family, that they will somehow be drawn to His saving grace. Please do not be amazed at how the Willises are handling this battle...be amazed that Christ is fighting this battle for us...we are simply along for the ride. A bumpy ride...yes...but one that He is guiding and navigating, and all we have to do is give it to Him and trust He will lead us through. So, what does that ride look like from here? Well, I thought I would lay out now what we have been told by our team of doctors. Matthew has radiation all this week, but no chemo. Then next week, he will have radiation on Tuesday, and chemo on Wednesday (one day only). We will spend the following weekend (Oct. 10-12) at a Camp Sunshine Family Camp. Casi and I looking so forward to that, as we have never seen it. The next week (Oct. 13-17) Matthew will most likely have another one-day chemo, and that will be the last one until his surgery. If all goes as our team of doctors says it will, Matthew will have surgery the week of Nov. 3-7. We are not sure of the day yet, but will let you know when we do. As I stated before, this procedure has the potential to be quite extensive and recovery will be as much as 10-12 weeks. But, we know we serve a mighty God. We know He is the Great Physician. We know he answers prayer. How? Well...Philippians 4:19 says, And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:6-7 says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Lamentatians 3:25-27 says, The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:7, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. James 1:2-3 says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And finally, James 5: 13-16 says, Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Gods perfect Word contains many many passages that confirm just how powerful, loving, healing, forgiving, merciful, and all-knowing He is...just to name a few. Because of that, we know that God is there to guide us and direct us as we continue down this path. So, I beg you all to continue to pray...every day...as often as you can. Pray that these prayers will be answered in addition to our previous prayer plan we have given many times before and again below. 1. Pray that as Matthew finishes the radiation and chemo over the next few weeks, that Gods hand is making it as powerful and strong as it can be. 2. Pray that Matthew will continue to be protected by God from the side effects of radiation and chemo. 3. Pray that this tumor will be completely removed by God when that scan comes sometime around Oct 27-31. 4. If Gods will is that the tumor stay...please pray for more amazing shrinkage. Also continue with our previous prayer plan as follows: 1. That Matthew is fully and completely healed. (James 5:15-16) 2. That this tumor would shrink totally away. (Jeremiah 17:14) 3. That God would guard Matthews body through all the uncertainties that chemo/radiation and the side effects they can present. No short or long term side effects! (Psalms 103:2-3) 4. That our family would fully and completely trust in God through all of this and find peace in Him. (Psalms 27:13-14) 5. That God would continue to be with Lauren as the sibling of a cancer patient. (Isaiah 26:3) We love each of you dearly. Not a day goes by that someone does not text, call, or remind us that they are praying for Matthew and the rest of our family. We are eternally grateful. Jey
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 18:15:36 +0000
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