WrestleMania

"Do not let your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1).

Unless you read yesterday's blog entry, the title of this one won't make much sense. If yesterday in any way was a day of wrestling with God in the midst of the situation in which we found ourselves, today escalated to WrestleMania fervor. But once again, I hear the words of the Lord and Savior of my life which He speaks to me.

Jesus' disciples wrestled. Down in the mouth. Heavy hearts over what their "leader" had stated about the future and those things which were to come. And knowing their hearts were troubled, Jesus spoke these words to them. His instruction: "Don't be." Though all the world may be troubled about the economic situation and the fact the DOW is down, let it not be true of you who are followers of me. When calamity and crisis strikes like a bolt of lightning that seemingly came from nowhere to scorch the ground only to retreat as quickly as it came, may your heart not be choppy like the seas caught in a Category 5 Hurricane. Instead, don't be troubled; don't be unsettled; don't be caught in the frenzy of emotions like those who live without hope.

Why? Your hope is in God. You believe in Him. Better still, believe in the One He sent. Believe in Me, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the manifestation of the Father in flesh and blood. Let your heart be fixed steadfast upon Me. And why is your hope in Me? Because I AM trustworthy. I AM truth. I AM faithful. I AM!

Is that easier said than done for you? Good! Me too. We're probably in the group with Thomas. For when Jesus spoke these words and promised He would return to receive them, Thomas was still troubled. So he addressed Jesus. "Where are you going and how can we know the way?" Obviously a man troubled in his heart about the situation in which he found himself. He wrestled with the concept that the one whom he followed for so long would soon be gone; out of sight and off the scene (physically that is). It is much easier to say we should trust God and not be troubled than to carry that out in flesh and blood in every day routines and situations.

We wrestle with our troubled hearts and fail to find confidence and refuge in Him. But this word is timely for all of us. He is the Lord our God and He is trustworthy. So when life is riddled with uncertainty and pain, let the last thing be the uprooting of our hearts which are fixed on Him.

Today the report of Micah's biopsies returned. I'll try to write in plain English and in brief form. I feel a bit like the Pastor who returned from vacation to be met by the Chairman of the Deacons. The Deacon said, "I have good news and bad news." The pastor said, "So what's the good news." The Deacon responded, "The good news is that while you were gone 15 people made decisions to trust Christ, 12 people moved their membership to our church and the offering was up by almost $2,000 more than usual." A bit stunned, the pastor scratched his head and asked, "So what's the bad news?" "The bad news is," said the deacon, "we voted to fire you and hire the man who filled in for you while you were gone."

Good news: We know what has been plaguing Micah for what seems like months (which it has been two).
Bad news: We know what it is.

Micah has what is called Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferation Disorder. According to one website regarding this disorder, "The disease is an uncontrolled proliferation of B cell lymphocytes following infection with Epstein-Barr Virus." The proliferation of the B cell lymphocytes occurs because the Suppressor T Cells which control this is inhibited by the anti-rejection medication Micah takes. The B cell lymphocytes, because of the immune system's confusion, have been attacking the tissue and/or organs. Micah's sores in the small intestines are a result of this attack. The treatment for Micah is two-fold. First, reduce the amount of suppression so that his immune system (and the Suppressor T Cells) can hopefully reverse this process. Second, he will receive an infusion of a potent medicine (called a chemotherapeutic medicine) once a week for four weeks.

The concern is that if the B Cell Lymphocytes continue this rapid proliferation that it can result in malignancies. In short, it can lead to lymphoma. According to Dr. Berman, if that happens, it will be bad. However, Dr. Berman has great optimism and confidence that this aggressive approach will reverse this occurrence and that we will see Micah improve, though it may be slow (possibly seeing the greatest results after the last infusion).

It is hard to battle something post-transplant that is or can be as severe or dangerous as the liver disease itself. However, we face this as we have the other difficulties over the last year. We are rooted in the truth of Scripture that God is in control. We know He loves and cares for us and Micah. We place our faith in Him day by day.

Please pray for Micah's continued health. Specifically, pray his immune system will begin to fight the EBV instead of attacking the tissues and organs; for the treatment plan and medicine to successfully reverse the proliferation of the B cell lymphocytes; for there to be no development of malignancies from this; most of all, for the Lord to be high and exalted throughout this time.

Thank you, as always, for praying for Micah and our entire family.