On Mountains and Valleys
“ . . . if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” ~ Matthew 17:20
Mountains Aren’t Mountains Without Valleys
Let’s start with an update on Mom. Last Monday, her oncologist declared her cured!!!!! That’s incredible. She’s done with treatments and can put cancer in her rearview mirror. What a mountain to celebrate!
Unfortunately, she also developed cellulitis because of her weakened immune system and she was unable to be discharged from the hospital. She has spent the past week receiving IV antibiotics and having her pain managed. She’s, understandably, discouraged. She’s starting to improve, but not ready to go home quite yet.
Mountains and valleys go hand in hand.
That Mountain in the Distance is Getting Closer
Today, we met with the transplant doctor and heard the news we’ve been holding our breath to hear . . . Mike’s finally ready to get on the transplant schedule! He will need one final cycle of his current regimen while all the transplant plans are set in motion, just to keep the disease under control.
We will get to be home for Christmas next week and then he’ll come back on New Year’s Eve—which also happens to be our anniversary—for pre-transplant testing and Day 1 of his final cycle of the current regimen. On our anniversary last year, Mike was in the hospital with extreme back pain and was still undiagnosed. Looking back, that was the moment things got real, and the valley started sloping into greater depths. This anniversary, we will begin the process that will bring us to the mountaintop.
Mountains and valleys go hand in hand.
Faith That Moves Mountains
The verse I quoted at the beginning of this entry has, honestly, been a hard one for me over the last two years. I have wrestled with it a lot. If you’ve been following our updates for a while, you may remember the story about how Jackson, our youngest son, prayed for the Lord to “move that mountain” when we were having a particularly hard time about ten years ago. Ever since that time, when our family faces a hardship or obstacle, we call on our {not-so-little now} mountain-moving prayer warrior and our whole family starts fighting on our knees. It’s become our family battle cry of sorts.
This experience has taught all of us so many things. One of them I’m learning is that Matthew 17:20 is real and true, just like every other verse of the Bible. But it’s not so much about my faith doing the work, it’s about God increasing my faith to believe him and trust him more — no matter what the results are. It’s about leaning into God instead of running away from him. It’s about loving him, even when I wonder if he’s forgotten me. It’s about moving the mountain of my doubt more than the mountain of my circumstance. You see, it’s not about my faith at all. It’s about God choosing to display his power through the witness of my exercising faith in the valley. If not for the valley, I’d never understand the joy of the mountain.
Because God is using this mountainous obstacle of cancer to increase my faith, I’m looking forward to the day I can stand on the mountaintop and rest and rejoice. But, I’ve decided I’m not waiting until I get there to shout his praises. He’s the God who gives me faith and that faith can move mountains. I think I’ll go ahead and praise him while I’m still in the valley.
Mountains and valleys go hand in hand.
