thread for middle age to older Christian women.
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Good Morning, Ladies! I hope the following will encourage you. Love, prayers, and
blessings, Deborah7 Benefits Of Going Through Hard Times by Mark Altrogge
Everything God does in our lives is for our benefit, including
suffering. Though they never seem pleasant at the time, hard times produce
wonderful benefits in our lives. On Monday I mentioned one benefit – affliction
drives us to God’s word. Here are seven more benefits of suffering:Affliction drives us to God in prayer
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. James 5:13
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from
their distress. PS 107:6When the sun’s shining and everything’s going our way, we don’t feel our
need for God. But desperate times lead to desperate prayer. When we’re helpless
to change our situation, we cry out to our Savior, who delivers us from our
distress.Affliction humbles us
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of
the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to
harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 2 CO 12:7Afflictions remind us of how fragile we are. It keeps us lowly. Reminds us that
everything we have is a gift. Pride leads to a fall, but God gives grace to the
humble. Affliction positions us to receive grace.Affliction makes us rely on Christ’s power
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my
weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 CO 12:9When we realize how powerless we are, then Jesus can display his might in
our lives. When we’ve exhausted all our own resources Jesus rides in at just
the right moment, like the hero in a movie who comes to rescue someone as the
train is bearing down on them.Affliction brings us the comfort of God himself
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies
and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction…, 2 Co 1:3As well meaning as others are, there are times when no human words can
comfort. But God himself comforts us when we cry out to him in our pain. The
God of ALL COMFORT, the one who knows exactly what our broken hearts need,
comforts us in ALL our affliction. The One who fashioned our hearts, who knows
our every drop of sadness, knows the exact medicine we need to comfort us.Affliction gives us compassion for others
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that
we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort
with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Co 1:3When someone else has been through the same thing, their words can really
comfort us. Though your pain is horrific now, someday God will use you to bring
his comfort to someone else who suffers the fury of depression or the agony of
a child who rebels like yours.Affliction produces endurance and patience
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering
produces endurance, RO 5:3The only way to get patience and endurance is by being placed in situations
that require it. But it will be worth it in the end, because it is by patiently
enduring in faith that we’ll enter heaven.Affliction reminds us that this world is not our home
For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. HEB
13:14As many blessings as this world has, it’s not our home. Affliction weans us
from this world, reminds us how transitory it is, and makes us long for heaven,
for that day when we’ll see Jesus face to face and he will personally wipe away
every tear from our eyes.Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget none of his benefits. Especially those
benefits he brings us through hard times.http://www.theblazingcenter.com/2014/05/6-benefits-of-going-through-hard-times.html
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Mini - good hearing from you.
Mini and Bev - I've had to keep a log next to my pill bottle to remind myself and to make sure I take my pill. Having never been on a daily pill - it's been a new experience and since my mornings vary, I've had to be careful to not forget to take the pill. There was a time early on that I thought I'd taken the pill but wasn't sure so I then started the log to record the time I take it. As for the insomnia - as I've gotten older I have some but I really don't think it's gotten worst with the pill so I think it's just normal for my age. I usually read before going to sleep and that makes me sleepy and if I can't then go to sleep, I just turn on the light and read some more. I've even done this in the middle of the night if I wake and can't fall back to sleep (this is a rare event for me). Reading always helps me to get sleepy if it's dark outside and I sleep better after reading. I hope this helps and I pray your side effects are minimal and tolerable.
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Hi all! Almost made it to another weekend...
Thanks, Deborah for the post about affliction - perfect and a good reminder. As I read, I thought about all the times I've heard people quote the old "God won't give you more than you can handle." However - I heard somebody say (and I wholeheartedly agree) sometimes God will give you more than you can handle....so you know you need to depend on Him and that you can't do it in your own strength. I think we've all learned that lesson - I know I sure have. Thank you, God!
Our friend Sharon/Sewstrong doesn't get on this thread too much any more (but she's doing fine after her shoulder surgery last week - not nearly the pain or problems she was expecting - lots of answers to prayer!). When I told her about a couple of us feeling that this thread was much more helpful than the arimidex one, she said "of course it is - because Jesus is there!" Of course she's right - duh!
Our friend Char/Gardengal is winding down at school - busy lady these days as she's working her knee like crazy after surgery. Wish I had half her energy.
I'm planning to head to PA from Texas next month - my parents and two sisters live there - and along the way, I'm planning to meet both Char and Sharon. I'm thanking God for bringing you all into my life and looking forward to finally getting to hug those two new friends! Just like my pastor says.....everything (like BC) that happens isn't good but God will use it for good.
God Bless y'all!
Bev
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Good morning all. So glad everyone is checking in as it sounds like you're doing well. PTL! I'm heading off for my 9-hour chemo day. It's been a long week so I'll be glad to have this one over.
Monday I went to have my stitches out from surgery and get an x-ray to see if the surgery did indeed work. The surgeon said the x-ray looked good - minimal fluid in the bottom of the lung.......although I'd had shortness of breath all weekend which scared me. He said it was normal so I'll take it. I'm to go back in a month for one last follow up and another x-ray and at that time he'll decide for good if the surgery was a success. Unfortunately by the time I got home from my appointment and running errands, my wound had leaked quite a bit. So, back to the hospital I went and they put the stitches back in. In two week's time, the skin hadn't healed shut, thanks to the chemo. Wednesday, I started leaking again so, back to the hospital I went again and they put more stitches back in. Between the trips to the hospital and the ongoing laundry to clean up the messy clothes, I was ready to make Wednesday my Friday, lol.
I'm so glad everyone is doing well. The good news we share is encouraging and provides us ongoing hope for the future. Have a great weekend! Prayers and praise to all. Sue
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Sue - so good hearing from you. PTL the surgery was a success. Now I'm praying your incisions heal!
Bev - I agree and love your comment "I've heard people quote the old "God won't give you more than you can
handle." However - I heard somebody say (and I wholeheartedly agree)
sometimes God will give you more than you can handle....so you know you
need to depend on Him and that you can't do it in your own strength. I
think we've all learned that lesson - I know I sure have. Thank you,
God!"Thanks for the update on Sue and Char. So glad they are doing well and I'm excited for you all as you plan to see each other in person this summer!!!!
Praying you all have a blessed day and weekend ahead!
Deborah
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Hi again! My PET scan showed no activity, still. So my onc's nurse told me he doesn't want to do anything else yet, says this is great news and he'll see me on June 16th for my regular appointment. I don't know why my markers will not go to within normal range, and have went up twice now! But if he's happy with the PET scan, then I guess I can just wait till Monday afternoon to ask him my questions.
Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. Know that I pray for total healing us all, in Jesus' name! Amen!0 -
Sue, great news about your surgery but we'll sure be praying that the incisions will heal once and for all. I know when I was on chemo I cringed every time I got any little cut or sore, knowing it would take forever to heal - so of course the incisions will be around for a long time.
Wandering, what an answer to prayer! A couple of friends and I were talking about amazing answers to prayer and all of a sudden I said, "wait! why are we surprised when God answers prayers? We should be expecting it all the time from our Great Physician!" Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace!
I was just reading one of the new articles about exercise being good for joint pain with arimidex. I'd read another article a couple of weeks ago that said running is better than walking to prevent BC from recurring (although at the end, the article said the study hadn't controlled for age, stage of BC, etc., etc., - so many variables that it probably wasn't really scientific). In any event, I still decided to start running again - after about 25 years (thanks, Char, for inspiring me!). I've been running a very slow mile and a half 3 or 4 times a week and this morning went up to my goal of 2-1/2 miles (which is through my neighborhood and around a little community pond). For what it's worth, I figure it sure can't hurt me and it seems like God (through these various articles) is telling me to get out there and get moving.
Deborah, I see you're in Kentucky, too (as is Sharon - in Warsaw). We could have a big get-together. Anybody else want to join us?
Bev
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Wandering Spirit - I'm SO thankful to God for your good news!!! I've heard the tumor markers are not always indicative of problems.
Bev - that would be GREAT if we could meet together! Keep me posted on the dates, etc. I'm an hour away from Lexington and a little over 2 hours away from Warsaw. If you can, try to visit the Creation Museum which is near Warsaw.
Regarding exercise while on Arimidex, I prefer walking. Besides walking outdoors, I love Leslie Sansone's Walking videos and since we can suffer from bone loss because of the Arimidex I've been using a video to strengthen my bones. It's called Susie Hathaways's Safe Training for Osteoporosis Prevention. I have the first video and highly recommend it!
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Good morning all. It's a beautiful late spring day here and the sun is shining- finally! I hope this finds everyone doing well.
My update from yesterday is that the onc. decided to postpone chemo yesterday. My platelets have been low and she felt they needed to be higher. It will also give my surgical wounds another week to heal before the chemo does it's number on them again. So, I came home and slept most of the afternoon. I guess the low platelets explain why I've been napping so much! I'll be working on getting them up this week so bring on the blueberries and strawberries, lol.
The onc. has scheduled the dreaded scans for next Wednesday and I'll meet up with her again next Friday for the results and to see if we're going to stay on this regimen or go on to something else. My prayer is to stay on the taxol/carbo. combination so I don't have to psych myself up for new side effects from something else. Wandering I'm hoping my scans look as good as yours - that's great news!
Have a happy Father's Day weekend all. Blessings. Sue
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Deborahanne's post reminded me of this. It's gotten me through some rough patches, or what I used to think of rough patches, before BC.
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Good Day Ladies: Time flies by when you don't have Chemo/Rad appointments anymore. Instead I have taken to visiting with friends, going to church and NOT isolating anymore. I have caught up on all my BC reading on this thread and don't remember a thing - sorry, but I have to be honest. I hope this is the new normal; it will really keep me ever from becoming a gossip. ha ha
That said - my post radiation se's are still in the healing process; not the raw, flesh eating sight it use to be and now more like a sunburn gone bad and peeling like crazy. With extremely large breast - it has made it more unsightly than ever. I stood in the mirror the other day and looked at my two breast and thought - ' I look like an Oreo Cookie" The BC breast all dark and disfigured and the other one extremely pale in comparison and reminiscent of my grandmothers' 'strap it down with a belt' - she was born in 1898 and never wore a bra - yes, that imagination picture is correct.
I have made a note of all the scriptures that you have quoted to look up later. Made a note of everyone's name or moniker and will make up a prayer list.
Here is the truth for me. I am extremely grateful and joyful to have had BC. I am grateful to God to know that I was strong enough to rely on Him, to press in to Him and to rest in Him. I had a peace descend on me right from the diagnosis and a joy that has filled my heart throughout. I am so thankful to have found you all here on BC.org for the encouragement I needed - in flesh form. God has taught me so much and I get rather emotional ( which I was not like before) about how much he does love me.
I need to encourage you all. Those who are starting this journey, those who have completed it. Those who are experiencing it again and those who continue to fight the battle. Remember whose you are. I often think that we must be an extremely spiritual Jesus minded group of gals - that love God so much that we are such a threat to the enemy; and the enemy is trying to take us 'out'. We, who know God, know God. He, the enemy, who is against God, doesn't have a flippin' clue that this is just pushing us closer to God and making us shine up our armor and enter into the battle. Which reminds me.
Last Fall I was at a meeting and during the prayer time I had a picture. The picture was of a woman with short hair and dressed in medieval warrior gear; fitted leather tunic and pants. She stood with her head bowed and both her hands on the hilt of a large sword. One hand lay on top of the other. The swords' point was resting on the ground, and stood straight and true. As I looked at her I noticed that behind her was all white and as I lifted my eyes I saw the entire picture. Behind her stood, twice her size - the largest angel. The wings were slightly out to the side which made it white around the woman. I saw this picture again when in prayer and this is what I saw. As I watched the wings went out to the sides in full extension and height and then came forward and around the warrior; encasing her. They hid the warrior woman.
THIS is who we are; we are spiritual warriors. I want you all to think of this picture and use it to be your special hiding place with God; go and rest in Him, press into the secret place and let Him minister to you. Be still, stop the noise(s) in your head and listen. Let Him minister you. Be encouraged.
Life, I have been taught recently, is all about relationships. Ours with God, His with us, ours with others, His thru us with his beloved children and the lost. We, all of us here, are connected in relationship and I for one, when it is all over, excitingly WAIT for the party there will be in Heaven when we meet up; can you just imagine.
Carren
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Thank you Carren for putting things into proper perspective. Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees. God's vision and ours are not always the same. Keeping our eyes on the prize should be foremost in our hearts and minds. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. At least for me, I'm sorry to say. God is good all the time even in the midst of BC.
Blessings
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Sitting here with a pile of medical bills that I can't pay. Trying not to feel sorry for myself. We lost half our income when I had to quit working and the emergency fund is tapped out. I know God will come through, but it's hard calling all the docs/medical centers to explain why we haven't sent a payment and likely won't be able to for the foreseeable future. That whooshing sound you hear in the background is our credit rating falling fast. sigh
Blessings
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Oh Mini - I was in the middle of something and almost didn't get on the computer just now....but hopefully you'll see this and know that I'm praying for you and your husband right now. Our God Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills will provide all your needs....even if sometimes it takes much more waiting than we'd like. I'm praying not only that the finances will work themselves out but that you'll have peace and faith through it all that God has a plan, purpose and reason - just like your signature verse of Jeremiah 29:11.
God bless you - Bev
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Mini, I have just logged on and read your post. I am praying that all your needs are met, and you will experience His wonderful peace.
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mini...these are for you ok...
Just left my treatment and had the urge to login. I am feeling strong and just heard an amazing true story and God is making miracles. Expect a miracle I know I am. Praise God...we have an amazing God. He loves his daughters so much.
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Oh, Lucy, those are great! Yep, they're perfect for Mini but I'm going to claim them too, okay? I especially like the first one about God either catching us or teaching us to fly. Reminds me of the song I like so much - God will either calm his child or calm the storm.
Praying for us all but especially you, Mini - that miracle is coming, I just know it!
Bev
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Absolutely Bev, they are really for everyone. I know we all have our own struggles and challenges but know our God is good and we must have faith. If need be, pray to strengthen your faith. It is so important for us in these times and in these times of the world. I know that Father God spoke to me a couple of years ago, the one and only time I heard him audibly speak to me and he said "wake...I have a work for you!" I know he has a plan and he has been preparing me for something. He also led me to this board and all of you so you're all a part if it somehow. I am so excited at what He will reveal in His time.
Lucy
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Mini, I have been where you're at and survived it. My first round of BC my insurance company not only cancelled on me but they rescinded the policy going back almost two years saying my BC was "pre-existing". Duh. They left me high and dry with $250K of bills and right in the middle of chemo. I called every single provider and told them my story and asked if they had any charity cases. Almost all of them did. I was able to whittle everything down to about 9K and paid $25 a month until my disability came through almost two years later when I was able to pay it off. God did a number on me through it all but the best number of all is that He always provided. You might also want to talk to the hospital social worker and ask for applications to all of the charities out there. This go around, I've gotten several grants that have helped with mortgage payments, food, gas, etc. Not all of them help with medical bills but paying the other bills frees up funds for the medical.
I so remember the stress of it all as if it were yesterday. I'm going to pray warfare prayer over you for the duration my sister. He will conquer all. Blessings. Sue
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That is awesome information Sue for other warriors as well. Very good information. See mini...God is answering prayer already through Sue...THANK YOU JESUS!!!
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Thank you everyone. I know in my heart all those things are true. I don't why I am so upset over this, but when I realized that we didn't even have enough to buy our grandchildren (twins) a modest birthday present, it was just the proverbial straw. I haven't felt this broken in a long time.
I have a friend that is an RN that was going to help me access some of those funds that you reference, but her SIL was in a serious diving accident and she has left to go help their family. I didn't think about calling the hospital social worker. I may do that. One source that I thought I would be able to get some help in July has run out of money. If I get approved for SSI, I will be fine because it will go retro for a year and the lump sum would allow us to pay the current bills and put a little back into our emergency fund. My poor husband may need to have surgery for kidney stones, and is also due for some other minor procedures. We're holding out until we meet our max out of pocket and we won't incur any more charges.
Thank you all for your encouragement and prayers. I appreciate them more than you know.
Blessings
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Good morning all! I go for the dreaded scans today. Prayers for good news are welcome. Prayers and blessings to all.
Sue
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oh yes, praying for you all, for by His stripes we are healed. My scans are Thursday, after today's chemo and before Friday's blood transfusion .
Anita
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Praying for all yo beautiful ladies.
Blessings
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Thank you Mini! Btw Mini, Jer. 29:11 is one of my life verses
. Great pick!Anita, praying there's no "scanxiety" for you. Mine were uneventful - just awaiting the results. I so don't want to have to switch to yet something new again and await new SE's. I'm hoping the results show stable, stable, stable! Gooooooo God! Sue
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Praying for you today, Anita and Sue - hope all went well with the scans and procedures. Mini, hope God has been blessing you this week with lots of unexpected kisses.
Lucy, how is your chemo going? Debbie, how about you? You were able to work from home and the treatment was relieving the pain so you were feeling much better - hope that's still the case?
We're into our summer heat and humidity here in Texas but have had lots of rain (for us, not compared to my friends in the northeast, of course!) so we're thanking God we don't have to worry about drought and wildfires this year.
Praying for us all - Bev
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Hello Dear Sisters in Christ! I am finally back. All I can say is the past three weeks are pretty much overwhelming to say the least. The school where I work told us we had to be cleaned up, packed up and out last Friday. No one will be allowed back in because they are putting in WiFi everywhere, paving our parking lots and putting a new roof on my section of the building. I pretty much went in at 7 and left anywhere between 7 to 9 every night. I put 15 miles on my knee during our field day last Wednesday and worked till late.
As I was leaving work Friday, the landscaping company hired by the district was working next door at the middle school and they were demolishing their school gardens. Because of rain, I have not been in mine to weed and because of working late too. The guys told me they were coming to mine on Monday so my husband and I went in Saturday morning and each of us worked non stop for seven straight hours weeding, pruning and edging. My husband stopped back today and said that the notes I left must have made them do a good job because they did not destroy anything. I would like to think that it was the intervention of God.
This week I am getting my master gardener required hours by working a camp for 4 and 5 year olds at Phipps in Pittsburgh. I go for 4 hours every day. I am getting ready to head to the Outer Banks on Sunday for a well deserved rest. But in the meantime I am trying to pack and get my own gardens in order. You would think I would be dropping the extra pounds I picked up from being out of action but no such fortune.
Thank you Bev for request for prayer. My knee is pretty bad and I am seriously praying they will take some fluid off it when I go in for a check up on Friday. It looks like I have a half of a tennis ball on the left side of my knee. My dad finished wound care today. They say his skin is pretty fragile at the sight and it will take two months to be like his reg. skin tissue. He will be going with us to a Duck next week and then head home where I have promised to help him clean and throw out. No rest for me this summer. Well it will keep my mind off my official breast check up in July.
I have been reading the posts and pray for all of you. Welcome to our new folks. You are not here by chance for it is God who has guided you here. May you find refuge in the storms that rage around you. I feel a great peace when I am among these women of faith. May God give you that peace and comfort as well.
In Christ,
Char
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Char - welcome back, you crazy lady! When are you going to slow down and give that knee a chance to heal a bit? I'll be praying for you and your dad - so glad he's doing better. Hope all goes well with the kids next week - kind of a busman's holiday for you after school is out for the summer.
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Hello everyone,
I haven't left a post lately because I am so dopey with chemo brain that I am scared you will all wonder what I am talking about.
I am completely without pain, the mixture of Taxol, Herceptin and Perjeta seems to be doing a very good job. My oncologist told me last week that he gets constant phone calls from people in the Health Service Executive who are desperate for Perjeta to fail on me. Apparently the drug is very expensive, and the bean counters don't want to pay for it so would rather that it simply didn't work. I told him to pass on the message to them that I am currently thriving on it, and believe that plenty of other women will thrive given the chance. What the doom merchants don't see is that once the treatment is complete I will return to full time work, continue paying my taxes and contributing to society. If I complied with their wishes, rolled over and died then they wouldn't get their taxes paid by me. This short sightedness makes me very angry, I want the drug to work in Ireland not just for me but for all other women in my situation. It is ridiculous that the drug is tested and proved in the US and the UK, yet I am probably the only woman in Ireland on it.
Last week some people from my church came around and worked on my back garden. It had got out of control, so they needed to get the grass down to a manageable level and cut out all weeds in the borders. One of our deacons is a landscape gardener, he came around with our pastor and the pastor's daughter who followed his instructions for cleaning up the place. They did a marvellous job, the only trouble is they cut back so much that the garden looks a skeleton of its original shape. I have some really beautiful English roses by David Austin (I am sure you can get them in the US), and one of them, Teasing Georgia it is called, had been trained into a climber and covered a large area of one fence with huge yellow roses which were the size of small cabbages and gave off a wonderful fragrance. Well this rose had come away from the fence and I assumed that the gardener would simply tie it back. I came out of the house and found most of the rose lying on the ground where he had cut it away. He told me that it would not be possible to train it back onto the fence, it had grown into the wrong shape. It was heartbreaking to see something so beautiful lying on the ground. The main skeleton of the rose is still on the fence, he has trained it correctly for the future, but there are only a few blooms left on it at the moment after so much has been cut off. I realize that it is for the best, and the rose will grow better now that so much has been cut away, but I still grieve for how beautiful it was.
I do pray for you ladies, but get so tired now that I can't think clearly for very long. I had originally been told that I would be on a cycle of treatment whereby I would have three weekly treatments followed by a week off to get back to normal. My oncologist told me that the Perjeta cycle can't be messed about, so unfortunately everything else has to follow and therefore I am having my 8th of 21 weekly treatments today. In the early weeks I was getting bad side effects, but now they seem to be under control and my only problem is tiredness and apathy. I don't often post but I do look at the thread most days and pray for all of you.
Debbie
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Hello all. Debbie so glad you checked in and glad your current protocol is working. Also we flower gardeners know that when you prune, the bush bears more fruit. I'm guessing that your rose bush is going to come back stronger than ever and with more flowers than you had before. Just as God is pruning us through this journey, so too we'll bear more fruit as we go along. (John 15:2)
Well my scan results were posted today and they look good. Almost all of the results showed stable or slight decrease in size of whatever. Yeah! I can stay on my current protocol and not have to psych myself up for new drugs and new side effects. PTL I'm finally getting some good news.
Anita, I hope your scans go well today and the results are good as well. Praying praises over all today.
Blessings. Sue
(PS: Debbie, you inspired me. I was able to get most of my flowers in on Monday but petered out by late afternoon. I think I'll go finish my little flower garden today.)0
