Full of Thanksgiving

We’re rolling now. Seven out of 11 months with no cancer-related medical updates. Yes, that does feel scary to share and to say out loud. So much so that I almost did not start off with it. But I’m not going to react to that fear. I’m going to acknowledge it, say “hi” to it, and let it hang out as long as it wants to, knowing eventually it will be on its way.

Next month we’ll interrupt the cycle with a planned medical update before, hopefully, returning to our regularly scheduled programming. I mentioned it as a possibility last post, but we have scheduled an appointment with Dr. Bolen for December 5th. It should just be some high-fiving and hug exchanging with potentially a CBC.

The date of the appointment happens to be the 7th anniversary of when she sat down with us in Jennings’s patient room in Hemby. We sat on the day bed in shock, half hearing as she calmly and gently explained J’s diagnosis to us, AML. One of our pastors sat next to us and took notes since we knew we would be retaining very little information.

I remember only snippets of the conversation as she walked us through the (intense) treatment plan. There is a fork in the road based on how you respond to the first round of therapy. That is the piece that stands out so vividly now. If he were to be classified as high-risk (which he later was after round #1), he would need a bone marrow transplant. That sounded so foreign and radical. But the part that stuck - his prognosis, she said, would be a little better than 50-50.

He came out on the right side of those odds initially only to later lose against the statistics, relapsing when his chances of doing so had dwindled down to the single digits. That was now four years ago this Tuesday, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

I’ve shared many times before; this time of year holds so much for us…so much past trauma, so many memories & milestones. I went back and read the posts at this time from the past three years. I am grateful that there are now four that exist. I’m thankful that the triggers that this time of year held are losing their power. They are transforming into Ebenezers that demand our reverence, awe, and humility. They require that we pause and reflect, and in so doing their weight washes over us with humble gratitude.

Our wounds are healing and the scars left in their place remind us that Jesus was with us in the storm. We recall the raging waters, the intensity, the terror. Yet here we stand, but by the grace of God.

I pray that we continue to mark this time of year as the anniversaries and milepost numbers climb. I pray that each Thanksgiving we would stop to remember that we have a faithful God who walks with us through all that He calls us to endure - no matter how deep the valley, how steep the mountain, or how level the plain.

Before we all go fill ourselves with Thanksgiving meals, here’s a few from our November 👇

Clockwise from top left: we had our first lice experience with the kids! That’s smally getting her treatment after getting called out of school by the nurse. I happened to be out of town on a perfectly timed work trip so I missed all of the washing, vacuuming, and cleaning fun at the house. Next, is the Clemson-VT game in Blacksburg with our leadership team at work. We convinced our one neutral party to throw on a Clemson hoodie before the game and the Tigers walked out with a W. Next, that same Saturday, L took all the kids to the Monroe, NC air show. They thought it was the best, especially the boys who have been super into pretend war and who got to see planes drop bombs. Finally, our two and a half minute reunification at the Charlotte airport. L was returning from a cruise and I was flying out on a work trip.

We took a trip to the mountains about a week and a half ago. We had a stay in a house near Elk Park, NC to use. It had survived Helene relatively unscathed, so we decided to go and do our part to stimulate the local economies of Banner Elk and Blowing Rock. Mission accomplished.

Clockwise from top left: The house had the best hot tub I’ve been aside from the fact that it fit four kids. How to do nights in the mountains, Take 1. The kids on the steps of the original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis. Hiking around Price Lake just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The complaining started right about the halfway mark, which is perfect on a loop trail - it’s as easy to finish as it is to turn around.

I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving and if you would, thank God for where Jennings is today and pray that He would give us a lifetime of years marking this season.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 and written by Jeremiah while walking through a very deep valley.

#allinforjennings