Sunday, May 18, 2014

Health update

Life on the edge
It's the fourth Sunday after Easter.  Cranmer's collect for this week is one of my favorite prayers:
O ALMIGHTY God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men; Grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
It's also two weeks since Liane and I learned that I have cancer.  An operation on April 28th removed a carcinoma of the parotid gland - that is one of the glands in your neck, below your ear, which make saliva. The operation will be followed up by radiation therapy and chemotherapy, which will begin on June 2nd.

Life can change in a moment (a true "point of inflection").  And yet where true joys are to be found does not change.  They never were in the now-threatened future accomplishments, the memorials I might dream of building.  They are hid with Christ in God, in his eternal present.

I'll mingle some updates and information about how I'm getting on with the other reflections on this blog.  I hope that will be okay for readers: of course, feel free to skip the more personal stuff if you don't know me and/or it is TMI for now.

Grace and peace

John

1 comment:

byron smith said...

John,

I've only just caught up with this news and am very sorry to hear it. I hope that you and your wife have good support from family, friends and community at this time. May it be for you all a time of healthy grief, deepened trust and more earnest groaning for the renewal of all things.

Grace & peace,
Byron