Yesterday Laura and I did a video call with a top pancreatic surgeon in the country, who we met through a connection at her job (yet another great story!).
After all the medical experiences I've had over the past few weeks, I was definitely preparing for a fight to NOT focus on numbers or statistics or anything that would tell me what isn't possible. But when Laura and I hung up the call, I felt something totally unexpected.
I felt inspired. I felt peace. I felt settled.
Things that can only come from God's spirit! This was probably the first call talking through my current medical situation where I felt so much encouragement—and it was a game changer for me.
Most surgeons in the top of their field aren't really known for their bedside manner. But this doctor showed so much care throughout the call. He told me it was an honor to be able to spend time with me and review my case. He said I've read through every page and looked through every scan, and I've talked to thousands of patients like you with pancreatic cancer. He said they would love to check in and see how things go with my treatments, and he would love to have me come up there and be his patient. Wow, that was God!
After that, his nurse practitioner joined the call. She told me they've had so many patients who have had this same treatment and kept going. She even told me about a patient she calls the "bionic man"—a heli skier who jumps out of helicopters and skis on days in between his treatments. This man is so full of metal rods and pins from all the bones he's broken along the way, she was convinced it wouldn't be the cancer that finally gets him—it would probably be one of his adventures. I just laughed. I loved hearing about somebody living life like that, and that's part of why I want to keep sharing my journey with you—because we ALL can live, no matter how much time we have left!
This was just another example to me that God knows how to make things go. I have to tell you guys, I appreciate understanding where peace and joy and settledness come from. Not from the information, not from the person, but from God. My circumstances haven't changed, but God keeps adding to me spiritually, and that means so much!
That call yesterday was a miracle for me. I love how God tells His story. It's HIS story, not my story. He uses each of us as a pen to write, but it's the story that's written—not the pen—that's important. I just want God to be glorified, and I know He is through what Laura and I are experiencing.