This blog post is part of the continuing story of our family’s journey facing my husband’s cancer with grace that only the Lord Jesus can give. If you would like to read the story from the beginning, go here.
From diagnosis to the beginning of treatment, I had some wonderful diversions. One of them was our daughters. Heather had been giving the girls “lady lessons” at home. These lessons included manners, as well as how they should carry themselves as ladies. After three months, the girls had all graduated. As a reward, each was given a “date with Dad,” at the restaurant of their choice. Summer chose breakfast at a local restaurant called Dad’s Diner. Sam chose lunch at Pizza Flame. And Emily chose a soup supper at Eddington’s. Each date was very special and all their individual personalities were in full form. I gave each of the girls a card, telling them how proud I am of them, as well as a blessing for each of them. I am so grateful to have such lovely daughters.
Another diversion was a trip to California to visit my daughter Emily (yes, I have two daughters named Emily), and her husband Phil for a few days. It was hard for Heather and I to be apart during such a difficult time, but none of us knew the future and how the chemo would affect me, so it was important to make this visit while I still felt good.
The day before I left, a friend of mine who is an evangelist, heard about the diagnosis and called to let me know he would be coming through the Minneapolis airport on the way home from India. He has seen many healings in his evangelistic campaigns and offered to pray for me on his layover. I wasn’t feeling well on the day he was scheduled to arrive, but toward the evening, I perked up and we met at a Walmart in Bloomington. When my friend prayed for me, he didn’t pray for me to be able to cope with the cancer, but rather to be rid of the cancer. It was an encouraging time.
The next day I flew to California. During my first day in Emily and Phil’s new home, Emily tried her best to feed me all things healthy. That night, we went out for dinner and then to a prayer meeting at their church. The group was mostly twenty something’s, who for the first half hour or so, seemed relatively calm. Then everyone began praying, and they came alive with excitement. I was the main beneficiary of the prayers that night. Over and over they encircled me with their prayers.
For the next two days, we attended a conference given by a man known for his success in healing the sick. The messages that were delivered, were inspiring and faith building. Because of a mutual friend, the man had heard of my story and arranged for us to sit in the front row. Twice that night, he took me aside and spent considerable time praying for me. This conference and the prayer time was exceptional.
Late that evening, after the conference ended, we went to the site of the Azusa Street Revival, in Los Angeles. What began with a hand full of Pentecostals in the early nineteen-hundreds has grown to over six hundred million today. In the middle of the night, we walked along the beach, pushing sleep further and further toward morning. After a short sleep, I would fly home. While I loved the time with Emily and Phil, I was glad to be home with Heather and the girls.
It was November 17, 2012, my fifty-second birthday. That evening my entire family (brothers, sister, mom, dad and all the rest) had a birthday party for me. Cards from friends and family poured in, giving their support. I got several gifts, including a bunch of green bananas from my brother Dave. It was part of an inside joke that he had told me a couple of weeks before, “Don’t stop buying green bananas yet! It was his way of saying that I would still be around to see them ripen.
It was the first time we had all gathered since the diagnosis, and there was a large elephant in the room…Would this be my last birthday, or would the Lord answer our prayers? It was such a special time. The calm was over. In two days, I would start targeted chemo and the storm would hit.
You can learn more about Dan Erickson, his family, and his ministry at his blog,”Dan’s Pulpit.” Follow “Facing Cancer With Grace,” to read our continuing story.
Facing Cancer With Grace 