Dear Bearcreekians,

Many of you may have heard and others of you may just be hearing that my mother’s cancer has returned, this time in her lymphatic system.  We found this out last week and she began chemo on Tuesday.  They say there is a very small chance of remission.

My mom amazes me.  She is 80 and had her share of bumps, bruises, grinds and grace.  And she is taking the news better than I am.  I am not doing too badly but from all I can see she is doing better.  And I get to see a lot since she mostly lives with us and occasionally stays with my sister in Bellevue.

She continues her exercises. She eats sensibly.  I see no signs of depression and only a very little of anxiety.  She has a sense of humor and joked about how things could be worse - like having some form of dementia or being incapacitated because of stroke.  Her wonder persists and she continues to read not only fiction, but history, theology and sociology related to today’s dilemmas. She says her devotional life is good. She is close to God and knows it.

We worked together on an email/letter to let her family know. In it she wrote this: My concern is not death, but the process of dying.  I don’t know what to expect.  She is truly not worried about being dead. Her faith in God is firm in this. But she is concerned about the process of dying and its uncertainty.

All of us have, thus far, taken things one day at a time.  We do what needs to be done this day and, beyond scheduling doctor appointments, we don’t think much about what might come.  And in this and the very substantial experience of being held in prayer, we are at shalom.

I pray for each of you as individuals and as a congregation. I pray for your shalom in this and all days. Whatever your trials, may you know that indeed God is with and for you. And may you know that we are bound together by servant love. And may peace be your experience.

Shalom,
Dave O