Friday, August 5, 2011

From Bob (dictated to Emily)

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3

First, Patra and I want to thank all of our friends for your prayers and support. You have been incredibly generous and faithful in praying for me. Last week was one of my most difficult weeks (with the obstruction), and this week has been a very good week. We continue to monitor every day to make sure that there is not a recurrence of the obstruction.

Sometimes I am reminded of an old western movie as I continue in this journey. I picture a gunfight between two of the cowboys. Cowboy 1 fires a fatal shot, but instead of falling to the ground in agony, Cowboy 2 continues to shoot back! No matter how many times Cowboy 1 shoots those deadly bullets, Cowboy 2 continues walking forward towards his nemesis. Sometimes I feel like Cowboy 2. No matter how many “bullets” my body encounters, it keeps fighting! I won’t go through a litany of all the procedures and treatments that I have been through, but I do feel like I keep getting shot. For some reason God has continued to allow me to stand on my feet and move forward.

This past week Patra and I were sitting in the living room when we heard a loud boom. The house immediately went black as we lost all electricity. There had been a power failure in the neighborhood, and we were without power for a little over an hour. I was reminded of my need for power in our modern world. We couldn’t watch television or use the computer (because there was no internet). I laid on the couch and very quickly felt the temperature rising as the air conditioning unit sat silent. I must admit that I was worried that my ice cream was going to melt in the freezer.

This power failure reminded me of my need for power in the Christian life. When we accept Christ, he sends his Holy Spirit to live with us. The Holy Spirit is our source of power as we live this Christian life. If we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, then we are living our lives without any power.

When I began this journey through the “tall weeds” and began to fight this “nasty little disease,” I realized that the only way that I would be able to survive is if I tapped into God’s power of grace. I may not have always been as faithful as I should have been, but everyday I look to God for strength and power in these difficult days.

I meet with my cardiologist next week, and we will continue to try to adjust my medication to prevent my heart from getting out of rhythm. I continue in dialysis three days a week.

The grandchildren continue to be a joy to watch. They are all enjoying the pool and the two oldest boys are swimming like fish.


Austin, Bob, and Andrew

Dear God,
In Isaiah, your Word says that You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on You. I am so appreciate of the peace that you have given me over the many months of my disease. I pray that my mind will stay focused on you and that I will continue to keep your perfect peace. I am also thankful for my faithful friends who have prayed for us and showed us they loved us in the midst of this. I thank you that this week I have had no obstructions and I would ask you to allow me to continue to stay healthy and out of the hospital. May I stay faithful to you until the very end. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Until next week, God willing,

Bob