PET Scan Day

This morning I read Psalm 18 and then turned the page to read the first few verses of Psalm 19 and stopped there. I couldn't move past verse 4.

"The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the expanse proclaims the work of His hands.

Day after day they pour out speech;

night after night they communicate knowledge.

There is no speech; there are no words;

their voice is not heard.

Their message has gone out to the whole earth,

and their words to the ends of the earth."

Psalm 19:1-4

I've been in hospital since Monday. It was another unplanned, unexpected stay. My Monday blood test showed I had no neutrophils and because I'd mentioned unexplained jaw swelling, my team thought it best to bring me in to run some broad range antibiotics as a precaution. Sage (my daughter) and I both cried at that news. Particularly because I had to deliver it to the family, and her by phone. But I digress.

I was woken early yesterday morning, 5:45AM, by a nurse for some blood and obs (blood pressure, temperature and heart rate). And as I looked out of my room window, I could see the sun colouring the sky as it made its way into the day. Through the treetops that I could see from bed, with the cool breeze blowing into my window, the purples and pinks that turned to orange and red before I succumbed to sleep once again. As I read this morning's verses I thought of that image, of the heavens declaring God's glory by doing what they were designed to do. The sun, in its daily trajectory, paints the most beautiful abstract artworks each morning. And they're always a little different. And no matter what happened the day before. No matter, what silly thing we humans do to this earth, the world keeps turning, the sun keeps rising, and declaring the goodness and glory of God to us.

When we arrive home after dark, we have the privilege of looking up at a glorious night sky that is sprinkled with stars. Often I forget to look up, in the rush to get inside out of the cold, to get Sage to bed, to tidy the house and go to sleep. But whenever I do take the chance to pause, and look up, oh my soul! Bless the Lord! It is an amazing display. 'There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. [But] their message had gone out to the whole earth...' I can't help but see a creative hand at work when I look at the night sky. The universe is SO large and what we see is so, so small. How small are we? And yet, we were and are so highly valued by the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE(!! Let that sink in!) that He felt it was worth the sacrifice, to come to the earth, take on human form, human limits (forever - I think I'll do another post about that, when I come to understand it more) in a human body and to grow, learn, live, die and be raised from the dead for our sin. For our disobedience, our rejection of Him; to give us the option to believe in and accept Him.

'What is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.'

Psalm 8:4

What I got from Psalm 19:1-4 was that, no matter what variations may come in our lives, changes to plans, unexpected detours, doors closing and windows opening, we are called to continue on. To keep moving forward. To observe creation as it declares the glory of God. And to keep declaring the glory of God ourselves.

Today is the day I have my PET scan and wait to hear the result of my treatment. Of course I'm hoping and praying for the words 'cancer-free', but I also realise this may not be the complete end of treatment and something else may need to happen. But God has brought me through this until now, and He will continue to do so. Whatever the variation in the plan may be, I will declare the glory of God, my creator, redeemer and healer.

Please pray along with my family, as we wait for the results of the scan and for whatever comes next for us.

N.