Summer 2013.
A marker in my life for sure!
We're in the middle of deciding if I will "do" a round of chemo and then the "5-year pill" Sorry, I don't do technical terms. Or if I will fore go the chemo and just opt for the hormone therapy pill.
So today I sit for practically a full day of testing to help make that determination. Just like surgery day there are lots of markers. A wrist band, right or left side,? what's your birthday?
Them determining who I am and then marking the vials, and the charts.
The technicians tell me, "Lay very still, take a deep breath and hold it, we'll only take a few more then you'll be outta here. We'll get the results to your doctor. Advocates.
Many other situations have come knocking this summer. The least of these is not the water situation we've been having at the farm.
Right after a brand new water purifier system, we received a new meter. It's a long story but basically it was determined there was a leak somewhere along the line. So we walked the road along the farm, with water dowsing sticks. We looked for soft spots, and bubbling brooks, we tweaked all the appliances, we racked our brains, we blamed the new water system, and we grew more and more frustrated.
At our wit's end, sandwiched between dr visits, and surgery, and moments before calling a water doctor from the big city who would come with stethoscopes, monitors, and a hefty invoice we called the local plumber, Carl.
Carl came up the drive and stated, "We'll find your problem ... today." Almost the best words of encouragement I've heard in the last month and 1/2. This simple statement gave me renewed hope. We would put our trust in Carl.
A couple times during his investigation, he would calmly state, "We're gonna get to the bottom of this ... today." I don't want to place blame, but the new meter read that we had consumed 1/2 of a water tower in one month. We either had a major leak or we were soon to disappear in a large sink hole.
We got out the witching sticks again, and red flagged the whole 2 acres ... where we thought the water pipes crisscrossed the lawn. More markers.
Carl found no leak, so we asked him to put that in writing. But he wasn't ready to leave us to fend for ourselves at a town hall meeting. He wanted to find the source of the problem. So with combinations too numerous to even count we started a meter, appliance, mechanical quest to get to the bottom of our problem.
Late in the day, with the dream team of "the town," the meter distributor, and Carl, it was determined the meter was reading in one's and it shoulda been reading in tenths! Our "float a battleship" bill would be in the $100 range not $1000.
Water Problem Solved. Why did it take us so long to call Carl? We knew he knew his business. We were out of ideas, and we needed fresh eyes. Carl was our advocate.
The Hebrew people in the Old Testament used stones to make alters to commemorate God's provision in their lives.
Markers.
Joshua 4: 5-7 "Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
God has given us the Holy Spirit to help, comfort, teach, and to pray to the Father when we have no words.
Advocate.
John 14: 26-27 "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
I will go staight to the source, to get my answers. I will then mark the spot in my life when I saw God answer prayers. Summer 2013.
How is God moving in your life?
