Ponder Anew...

Tomorrow is the day that my best friend forever (thanks Abigail and Annah for the photo op months ago!) begins radiation and chemo treatments for the cancer that plagues his body.

I was reminded today as we attended a ward conference of an experience I had just a few days after Tim's diagnosis of cancer.

We found out on a Wednesday that the doctor "was 90% sure" Tim had cancer and four days later, on a Sunday morning before church, I was in the kitchen with my thoughts running wild about what we were facing. It was then that the words of a hymn came into my mind, seemingly from out of the blue. The words were "ponder anew what the Almighty can do"....

I couldn't even tell you what hymn it was from when the words came to me but it did startle me. I thought and thought about what song it was from. When I finally had the tune of the song in my head I searched the hymn book in search of the words that fit the tune I was hearing. I found it - Praise to the Lord, the Almighty hymn 72. Do you know in that song what the first verse says? I didn't....

"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,

The King of creation!

O my soul, praise him,

For he is my health and salvation!"

I have never noticed those words before. How fitting was now that Tim faces this health crisis.

The third verse says:

"...ponder anew what the Almighty can do" ....the words that first came into my mind on that Sunday morning. I truly believe that those words were given to me that I might look at it in that way. It was not "out of the blue" at all but comfort offered to my aching heart. Today I was reminded of that Sunday morning experience when our stake president quoted those exact words -- "Ponder anew what the Almighty can do".

Today as I searched the scriptures I found a verse that I loved in D&C 38:7

"But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me"

I will hold on to that -- His eyes ARE upon us and he IS in our midst even though we cannot see him. Tomorrow we step further into the world of cancer with radiation, chemo, steroids, anti-nausea medications, blood tests, waiting rooms, treatment rooms..the list goes on. But what a great comfort to know that His eyes are upon us and he is in our midst. Even though we cannot see Him, we can feel Him near us during all that is ahead.