Arwen's Journey: Rise and Stand Upright

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
But we rise and stand upright.
     -Psalm 20:6-8

     If we had placed our trust in medicine, we would be devastated. The reports from all of Arwen’s recent scans and studies have come back. Interestingly, these scans show some decrease in the amount of cancer in Arwen’s bones for the first time since her initial diagnosis of Neuroblastoma one year ago. No other treatment has proven even remotely as effective. While this seems like good news, there was not enough decrease of disease to consider the treatment successful. The goal was for a majority of cancer to be killed in order that we might progress to the next stage of standard treatment. That is not the case.

     The options we are given at this juncture are for an experimental treatment or for palliative care. Although this is dismaying, it is not entirely unexpected. We have continued to trust God to work in our lives according to His will. We understand that although we desire Arwen’s recovery and restoration, God may choose to bring fame to His holy name in a way that we would not naturally choose. How wonderful would it be to see Arwen’s healing when there was no way to attribute her healing to medicine! We will not cease to pray for a miracle. Yet, how magnificent also is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to prove the power of Christ – especially when we are put to trial.

     Even if all medical treatments worked perfectly, those whose hope was solely in man’s inventions would collapse and fall. Those of us who place our trust in God, and in His perfect Prince of Peace, can only rise and stand upright – even in death. We have, as you all are our witnesses, continued to see the hand of God at work in our lives through all of this ordeal. He has provided for our needs, given us grace for each day and each trial, and given us so much opportunity to share Him with others. Bless His holy name! How rich is His mercy toward us and how gracious His tender love in our lives. We can only begin to fathom the significance of being made to rise and to stand upright. May the powers in the heavenly places see what He has done and worship Him. Even as we see His hand in our lives, we eagerly await the day when we might look upon His face, passing away from all these troubles of the world. Nevertheless, we will continue to wait on Him here with what strength He has given us as we seek to be servants who are faithful and full of love, peace, and joy.

     Pray with us for direction, and please continue to seek the Lord for a miracle. May His perfect will be done in the lives of His imperfect servants so that His perfect name would be shown to an imperfect world. Thanks again to all of you who have so lovingly supported us through this and all those who have so faithfully prayed. There is, as always more work to be done, and this fight, like so many others, is not yet over.

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