Friday,

Another day of small blessings to count for Bonnie.

She had enough energy today to walk 11 laps around the floor, sit outside this afternoon on the patio and walk down the hall to her favorite sitting spot in the atrium.

Bonnie enjoyed reading all the cards delivered to her today, notes, and Bible verses. These are a source of encouragement to her and very uplifting. Bonnie’s spiritual nourishment came from Psalms today.

She went through the night, as well as today with a stable temperature so she didn’t have to endure the additional tests when it creeps above 100 degrees.

The biopsy of the rash on her chest appears to validate it is a reaction to one of the medicines she was given early on. Of course with her blood in the current condition, healing of the rash is a long drawn out process. Thankfully it doesn’t itch or hurt. It looks like a bad case of shingles though.

We are thankful for the nursing staff here on 5 West. It isn’t a job to them, it is part of their life and it shows in how they care for Bonnie.

We are blessed to be part of a small group Bible Study for the past 18 years. The ladies in this small group are incredible. They have taken on Cassandra’s open house with a vengeance. Tomorrow is the big day and we know it will be special for Cassandra, but bittersweet without mom there. We would like to recognize one person in particular for coordinating Cassandra’s open house, but we know that she would prefer not to be mentioned ….thank you so much TW! Thank you to the dozens of volunteers that have helped out in one way or another for the openhouse as well.

Please continue to pray for Bonnie’s food intake. She dreads meal time as nothing has flavor, it is very hard to swallow (even though the sores are getting smaller) and some nausea comes on.

Also pray that God would shield her from any bacteria or bugs as she is extremely vulnerable and at risk. She has no WBC now (down from the 100 she had at the end of the last chemo), which means she has 0% WBC that fight disease and illness. Another specific way to pray is the stabilization of her hemoglobin and platelets. Her hemoglobin remained constant today, but the platelets were extremely low so she needed another transfusion. The doctors would like to limit the number of transfusions of platelets as she will need a lot more later and they don't want Bonnie's body to start rejecting or having allergic reactions to new platelets. We are praying that her body would begin to produce platelets at a level that will be sufficient to limit the transfusions. They are important as this is what clots the blood.

The energy she is feeling right now compared to none a few days ago is primarily from some of the pre meds she is required to take before the chemo. These pre meds have steroids in them, so she really has a false energy boost and knows that once the chemo is complete she will go through the extreme fatigue.

We continue to remind ourselves that God has a purpose for this and that He isn’t going to give us anymore than we have strength to handle. We are all made in the image of God and precious in His eyes. When I think of the words precious and strength it reminds me of precious metals like silver and gold which triggers the thought of the refining process for metals, where extreme heat brings the impurities to the surface that are skimmed off leaving a more pure precious metal. Each time the heat is turned up more impurities come to the surface and thus the refining process.

Each of our lives will undoubtedly experience a refining process along the way, some more, some less, but be assured it will come. It’s how we handle the heat when it comes that is important. Do we resist and turn from God shaking our fist or do we find rest and comfort in Him knowing that He is in control of all things. Bonnie and I are choosing the latter and accept the heat of the refining process even in this difficult hour knowing that God is holy, His plan is perfect and without flaw…which I suppose is a purity unlike anything we can comprehend that surpasses all of our understanding.

Proverbs 25:4 says, “Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel.” Our prayer is that God will use us as a “material” for His glory.

“And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.” Zechariah 13:9