A Challenging Ride

At the end of Chemo Cycle 5, my doctor, speaking like a surfer, told me to ride the wave. The clinical trial drug was having some desired results and he advised that in cancer treatment once we "catch a wave" we'd best ride it as well and as long as we can.

That was a month ago. Already cycle six is over and cycle 7 has begun. I am not afraid to admit that I'm not a very good surfer. This is a challenging, uncomfortable ride. This wave is harder to ride than I anticipated. It is rougher and less predictable than the last wave. I lose my balance often. The rocky bottom of these coastal waters menaces me regularly. I find myself looking down at the perils of the ride instead of looking up at the beauties of the coastline and being with my fellow surfers. And while I ride, I continue to hear the voices… of those who, in one way or another, say that if I just had more faith, I wouldn't need to be here…. the voice of the deceiver saying that I am all alone on this wave… my own voice, full of doubt about things that I previously thought were certain…the voice of the wave itself, threatening to drown the tiny seed of faith I have.

Pray for the surfers around you:  young or old, well or ailing, sure-footed in their faith or wobbled by doubt. Especially pray for those seemingly at the mercy of a wave that easily could overwhelm. Pray that we might keep the faith, knowing that instead of being at the mercy of the wave, we are being held and sustained in the mercy of the Wave Maker.