We have always tried to teach our children to plan for the future, but live in the present. People waste their entire lives thinking about tomorrow and when they wake up, they find it is still another day away. Lately, we have been in that mode ourselves. Fortunately, there has been plenty to keep us focused on today so Tomorrow didn’t seem so BIG. You know, little stuff, like a wedding, children starting 3 different schools, cabinet making (okay, I only made one – it turned out pretty well, but I don’t have time for more), etc.
Well, our tomorrow will truly arrive when the sun comes up. It is the day that has loomed large on our calendar for over a month. It has been talked about, prayed about and planned for. Tomorrow is the day Beautiful begins treatment. When we wake up, Beautiful and I will scurry around getting ready, we will wake the kids for school and we will head for the hospital before they are fully awake. She will get prepped for surgery and after an hour or two, they will get started. Five hours later, it is supposed to be over. It all sounds so simple and clinical when you think about it like that. The reality is that it is far from that.
Thunder asked me the other day, why I thought God allowed Beautiful to get cancer. Part of his question is a desire to know, but part of it is also a desire for the comfort that everything will be okay. I explained to him that we may never know the answer while we walk this earth, but we do know that God does. God knows because He allowed it. He only allows things into our lives that make us more like Christ. So, I explained that what He allows either tears down the part that is not Christ in us, or it builds up the part that is Christ in us. The good and the bad are all part of that process. We don’t understand the how anymore than we understand how prayer changes us, but it does. So, we are prepared for our tomorrow.
“…what He allows either tears down the part that is not Christ in us, or it builds up the part that is Christ in us.”
Our tomorrow is based on what the doctors think they know. They will be the first to admit, that they can’t know more until tomorrow. That means we will go into surgery with one plan, and we may leave surgery with a completely different plan. That will depend on what they find tomorrow. If Beautiful’s tumor turns out to be in the state they believe it is, she only need endure months of recovery and the frustration of not being able to care for her children the way she would like, and the way they are all used to. It is difficult to Mommy effectively when you can’t raise your hands over your head or pick up more than 5 pounds. If the tumor is not in the state they believe it is, there will be many more tomorrows of treatment before she can consider herself on the road to recovery.
One of those Tomorrows will be tough. Many more tomorrows will be MUCH harder to endure. So, we go to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask that He provide the Tomorrow that He knows is best for us. We ask that you will pray with us. Pray that Beautiful, and our entire family would direct the world to God tomorrow. Pray that the children will seek comfort in Him tomorrow. Pray the that doctors will know wisdom and will see God’s design in all that He does tomorrow. Pray for patience for us, while we wait out what His will is for us tomorrow. Tomorrow we will find out. It is good that it is only a day away.
Seven on Earth 
John and Jamie, I am saddened to be reading this. Please know I will keep you all in my prayers. This is the second story I have read about friends facing the unknown, with breast cancer. His plan for us is so hard to see and understand but I know He will bring light to it all. Praise God it was found and is being treated. Love, hugs and prayers sent your way!