Thoughts and Updates

"Habakkuk’s transformation—from the anguished “how long” of 1:2-4 to the confidence, joy, and awe of 3:16-19—illustrates the biblical principle that honest wrestling with God is rewarded by deeper transformation. Like Job, through honestly bringing his pain and anger before God, Habakkuk was transformed, not so much by easily understandable explanations, but by encountering face-to-face the overwhelming goodness, power, and beauty of God (vv. 3-15)."   Monica Brands

    With that said, quoted from one of my devotional booklets, I have tried to focus the same soul searching to my own situation, and what I see around me.
    Going through pain, thinking about dying, watching others go through so called tragedies around me, like my brother-in-law's 35 year old son being suddenly taken because of a heart condition with no real warning to his siblings or father...it is tempting to look back, wonder, try to understand why people have to suffer through their pain of cancer or their loved ones'.
      And then, I look at my own friends in Venezuela now who are trusting God for their daily survival.   Would we, here in the USA, be able to go through anything like what they face daily?   Crime, fires, stealing, scarce and lack of medicine, food, water, electricity....when my friend Marta has a chance to Face time me, I cannot believe the constant daily battles they face.  They trust God completely for their survival.   I was told last night that they cannot even cross the border into Colombia anymore on a bridge because there is a new group of mafia type people, taken out of the prisons, who were given guns who are now patrolling the border to keep the VE army from letting anyone through....because the President cannot even trust his own army anymore!!  What???   Talk about "hell"....  my friends used to be able to at least cross over to Colombia by foot, buy some needed food supplies and return on foot.   I cannot even imagine all they must go through.  
         As to my cancer journey, I have rocky roads sometimes to maneuver, with putting in the tube which redirects the bile into my intestines and keeps things going "normally" through the digestive process.  That is quite remarkable I think but it was painful!  
         My blood work was fine Monday with the enzymes (bilirubin) at good low normal levels.  My tumor marker has gone down from 2192 to 1812.  Quite high but maybe going down?  For 3 days now I have not felt the usual side effects from the pills I am taking like I did.   A few days ago I had diarrhea, nausea, the usual "chemo funk", etc.   But the last few days have been a blessing....no side effects to speak of.   
          Today (March 21) Sebastian is nine years old.  How time flies!  Monday (March 25) Nicholas will be 16 years old!   
          That is the update for today!