Saturday,

Today was more or less a quiet day for Bonnie. After a night that saw her fever stay below 103 degrees, we were thankful that she didn’t have to experience the cooling blanket last night. She still dealt with diarrhea and that kept her up quite a bit throughout the night. This morning she had a chance for hard sleep from 5:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. so that helped her to have energy to get suited up for the wheel chair ride out to her favorite spot in the atrium.

Her WBC are still zero, her platelets low (she received a transfusion today) and her hemoglobin remained steady. So she continues to be in status quo.

Last night Bonnie enjoyed the lighting and thunderstorm that moved through the Lansing area. She asked for the blinds to be opened so she could watch. Bonnie said that storms were always calming to her. It reminded her of the many times she sat in our living room when the kids were small explaining to them the power of God and how He uses lightening to put nitrogen into the earth which helps plants to grow. She would pray with the kids and thank God for his power and control in all things even the things that seemed scary He makes them useful for His good and we never need to be afraid.

We can take comfort in not being afraid of the things of God that are seen and unseen, yet we are to fear the Lord. It seems like a contradiction and somewhat difficult to explain. We can rest in what God has in store for us and trust Him, but He is a holy God who expects us to be holy. Psalm 111:10 captures this in a nutshell:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do his commandments; His praise endures forever.”

So if God expects us to be holy and we are incapable, where is the hope that we have talked about? This morning as I was reading from my Bible I had music playing and the first song on the list was “In Christ alone”. Following are the words of the first verse:

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

Bonnie and I (and our family) are facing what we think to be the fiercest drought and storm of our lives, yet the love and peace of Christ stills our fears.