Remarkably Well

Tombstone Cross

Each week is marked by numerous trips to the treatment center. We are now on a regular M-W-F schedule. This is a relief to me because I can plan my week. Up until yesterday, we didn't know how many days or which days we would have to be there.

You may remember that the level of Calcium in John's blood is the most serious health issue he is facing. Calcium in the blood is dangerous for the kidneys. Most of us never give our kidneys a second thought, but when you are relying on them to filter out deadly toxins, you need to keep them good and strong. After receiving medication and fluids this week, John's Calcium level only went down a smidge. When we saw Dr. Hantel yesterday, John's calcium had gone from 15.7 on Wednesday to 15.4. (Normal is 8. 5 to 10.5) Dr. Hantel told us that the body and brain adjust to high levels of Calcium. If I were to have that level of Calcium in my blood, I would be in a coma. He said that the levels are not predictable for John. They go up and then they go down. He said this is "unexplainable." He also said, "Six months ago, I could not have told you whether we would be sitting here having this conversation. You are holding up remarkably well."

We know that John's life hangs in the balance. But underneath are the everlasting arms. God holds nothing carelessly. John’s life will unfold according to God’s purpose. It will not slip away without being released by God. No doctor can tell us how long John's body will be able to "hold up remarkably well". We simply throw ourselves into the everlasting arms.

Of course there are moments of fear and sadness. But today I am encouraged to walk in the way of the cross. The way of the cross is the way of death followed by resurrection. In Mark 4 Jesus said,

"With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

When I plant a seed, I believe that a plant will grow. When I put a basil seed into the dirt, I am looking forward to a tomato basil salad in July. And yet, to see the plant, I have to bury the seed in the cold, hard earth. My part is to hope for the basil and plant the seed. God will take care of the rest. Bringing something from nothing is God’s character, His being. He will do it. Bringing life from death is the Gospel.

In Christ, the reality of death is unavoidable. If we are going to follow Christ, and as Paul writes in Romans to “suffer with him”, there will be many deaths in our lives. Ultimately it is our physical death, but the principle of placing our hopes, desires, prayers and lives into the cold, hard earth, seeing them covered with dirt and frozen throughout winter, is part of the package.

In the mystery of Christ, life follows silence... stillness... death … burial.

Life comes from death.