General Update

 

From Paul:

Cycle 3

Doris has one week of Cycle 3. This is a vital cycle, as she began a new medication on August 14 – a delay of three weeks. So far, she has tolerated her medications well, with some minor side effects. However, the next steps of ramping up the second oral medication may worsen those side effects. But we carry on in hope and faith.

I have often found inspiration in music. Today, I would like to recall with you the beautiful hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour”.  I Need The Every Hour | Tabernacle Choir

1. I need thee ev’ry hour,

Most gracious Lord.

No tender voice like thine

Can peace afford.

I need thee, oh, I need thee;

Ev’ry hour I need thee!

Oh, bless me now, my Savior;

I come to thee!

2. I need thee ev’ry hour;

Stay thou nearby.

Temptations lose their pow’r

When thou art nigh.

I need thee, oh, I need thee;

Ev’ry hour I need thee!

Oh, bless me now, my Savior;

I come to thee!

3. I need thee ev’ry hour,

In joy or pain.

Come quickly and abide,

Or life is vain.

I need thee, oh, I need thee;

Ev’ry hour I need thee!

Oh, bless me now, my Savior;

I come to thee!

4. I need thee ev’ry hour,

Most holy One.

Oh, make me thine indeed,

Thou blessed Son!

I need thee, oh, I need thee;

Ev’ry hour I need thee!

Oh, bless me now, my Savior;

I come to thee!

 

As I enjoyed the performance of this hymn today in Music and the Spoken Word, I found myself identifying with every verse. I memorized this song in Dutch when I served as a young missionary in Belgium. There were times when I would sing (somewhat quietly) as I rode my bicycle towards the area in which my companion and I were actively working and seeking out friends with whom we could share the message of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Again, we are deeply in the realms of dependence and trust in the Lord. He is the One in Whom we place our trust. And we trust in the medical professionals who administer the treatments that Doris needs currently. Our trust in the Lord is higher, more reliable, without reservation, and with our entire hearts and souls.

 

This cycle is the one which we have been seeing from a distance in the future since treatments began. Now that it is upon us, Doris is having more frequent bouts of gastrointestinal discomforts. We are acting on impressions relative to the timing and portion size of meals for Doris. She has also had impressions about the timing of when she will take her medications. There are several indications that life will not be normal for the foreseeable future. There is a lesson to learn in this process. We all need to learn to adapt and pivot. Sometimes the need to make these adjustments is organic to our lives. Sometimes we adjust gradually, as habits and routines develop and become ingrained in our lives.

Is it possible that this submission to the treatment regimens is a representation of our lives and the need to adjust as we learn the consequences of our actions? Observing the unintended consequences from our actions and choices can lead to the adjustments we need and eventually choose to make. How much better our lives can be if we understand fully the cause-and-effect relationship of our actions and their consequences. This understanding is part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From these teachings, we begin to understand the consequences of making poor choices, as well as the positive consequences (spelled "blessings") that come from making good choices.

20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. (Doctrine & Covenants 130:20-21)

 

Not only are there blessings associated with obedience to the laws of God, we also learn that if we are desirous to receive a particular blessing, we can set our sights on receiving it by obeying the law which is ordained for the receipt of that blessing.

5 For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world. (Doctrine & Covenants 132:5)

For now, we adjust according to how Doris is feeling. She seems very much in tune with the adjustments that she needs to make.

Unfortunately, Doris is not feeling well today, so we will not be posting an update in her own words.