I was thinking about what that girl told Rabbi Bob and me at the Pauwela Cafe, "Hold fast, the Lord is going to bless you."  These past months Susan and I have been blessed with all of the  love and support we have received from family, friends and Christ's ohana.

2 Kings 4

Elisha and the Widow’s Oil

 1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”
2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 
3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” 
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” 
And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

When I was in high school I played water polo.  Part of our daily workouts was to tread water for what seemed like an eternity.  With hands raised out of the water we would do the egg beater kick to keep ourselves afloat.  Just doing the time, waiting  for it to be done.  I hated that part of workouts.  Well this is what we have been doing these past weeks, just treading water.  Doing life but knowing this test was ahead of us.

The last few weeks have been a struggle for me to write anything on the blog.  On the one hand it seems like we are finished, seven weeks ago the cancer was gone from the areas they treated yet on the other hand we have been waiting for this PET scan this week to see if I am "cancer free" or if it has spread to any other parts of my body.  I have been talking with other guys who have had cancer.  Each one agrees that every time they go back to the doctor for a check-up or test there is a sense of uncertainty.  It is like walking into a dark cave, you just don't know what is waiting in there.

I was thinking about how that widow must have felt when the oil stopped flowing.  Grateful for what she had, maybe regretting that that they had not gathered more pots.  For me, I want to collected every possible vessel for oil to be poured into.  I don't want to miss any of the blessings that He has for us.  I want Him to keep pouring His oil of blessing over us.

Pray for us on Thursday when we are at Stanford for the day. Pray for no cancer, and that they would find it if it is lurking somewhere. It will be great if we hear that we are free until the next visit in 6 weeks. Each one of you is a huge blessing to us. We love you and thank you for HOLDING FAST with us!