A Time to Smile and Give Thanks

Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Having mentioned the ongoing saga of the "lump in Vianney's throat" before on my blog, I thought I would update you with what is hopefully the conclusion to a seemingly epic tale. Yesterday, we made the all too familiar journey to the hospital, for the results of Vianney's latest procedure. Five weeks ago, he had a lymph node removed, to allow them to analyse it and find out what was causing it to be so enlarged. Obviously there were many options of what the cause could be and, despite having done various scans and needle biopsies, the consultant had not been able to rule out lymphoma and other life-threatening conditions for the past four months. Although there were numerous other things which could be causing the problem, it is a natural and human response to be instantly concerned about the worst possibilities.

Being Christians, we have done our best to hold onto God and keep trusting Him through everything in our lives up until now and this situation was no different. Some people think that being a Christian means you should always expect the best; nothing bad can ever happen to you. Being a realist and someone who lives out their faith amongst the real world, I know this is not the case. I know many wonderful people full of faith, hope and love who have not had an easy ride in life - and that is putting it mildly. I know that God does not always answer our prayers in the ways we expect, and I never want to lose that awareness. The people in my life who are the most inspirational to me, the people who I look up to and respect the most, are those who have known real pain, loss and struggle but who look to God and focus on Him nevertheless, trusting that one day it will all make sense.

I am pleased, and incredibly relieved, to be able to say that it looks as though Vianney is fine. They have said that the lymph node was a reactive one, responding to some form of infection which he didn't even know he had contracted. It is unusual - that's for sure, as even the consultants were stumped by it - but nothing sinister has shown up. He has to have another ultrasound in a few weeks to determine whether a second, more recent lump is the same as the original, but for now, the news is good.

Thank you so much if you've been praying and those of you who have been there for us in so many ways know who you are. Thank you so much, your friendship means the world to us both. We know we are lucky, we are thanking God but we will never grow complacent, thinking that life is always peachy just because you know Jesus. Often, the absolute opposite is true. That's why I wanted to include the above passage from Ecclesiastes; we are fortunate that this a time of thanksgiving for us, but we know it doesn't always work out that way and we trust God what His ways are higher than we will ever be able to grasp or comprehend. For now, we just say thank you to Him for all He is to us and all He has given us.