We are so thankful to report that God truly is working a miracle in Cade- and his scans showed each tumor on his lungs have virtually dissolved.
You'd think this blog would be the easiest one to write. But this week felt like it lasted a month, and I never had time to sit down and really focus. But! Now is a good time to recount the wonderful works of God, and to say with all my heart that I believe the tailwind of Cade's scan results is healing and faith for every person who reads or hears about him.
March 19th will forever be one of my favorite days.
When we were first given a scan date, it was written on a little sheet of paper and I was so terrified of it I could not even touch the paper. If I didn't know what a coward I can be before this, I certainly know it now. I find so much comfort in simple verses like Psalm 18, "I love you, O Lord my strength," and 1 Corinthians 1 where it says "foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." There is no one in all of creation like God. He can handle and look squarely in the face every fear and reality we know without flinching. HALLELUJAH.
About ten days out from our scans I started to emotionally leak everywhere. Chad and I went out for a date while my Mom was here (who is thankful for a Mom who drops everything to watch your kids in crises?!) and we had a pretty epic conversation.
"I feel like we are supposed to up our faith in the next ten days," Chad told me. The minute he said that, I heard a door click open in my heart. The month of inpatient stays and fear had taken a toll on me, and I felt stuck in the hallway of uncertainty. When Chad spoke those words, I felt a door in my heart to hope swing open.
This past weekend Chad said we needed to fast anxiety and worry for the weekend rather than food. That may sound easier, but try it, I dare you. Setting mental parameters up against fear and anxiety when scans were looming was LIFE CHANGING.
Monday morning dawned, and I put Cade in a sweater that said "Legend". I did it praying his story would be so awesome it would become legend.
After scans, we waited. And while we waited, my emotions were flummoxing between total despair and total fear. I turned on Rita Springer's Never Lost that afternoon, and for the first time my heart got above the circumstances.
The lows of this journey have felt terrifyingly stark at times, but there is ALWAYS a high that is even higher than I ever knew existed. There is a place when I meet with God where my heart soars- and nothing touches me there. Some of you know what I am talking about, because God is actually MORE real than a diagnosis, a tragedy, a feeling, a whole lifetime of loss. He is really really true.
Right as we sat down to dinner, the phone rang.
"I have fantastic news," were the first words our oncologist said. Cade's tumors, which were the largest lung tumors he had ever seen, have virtually dissolved. What remains on scans they believe are dying clumps of tissue that either the body will break down or will remain as just the aftermath of tumors. (Between you and I, I am praying that those place will also dissolve, and when they scan his lungs next they will literally think they're looking at a new pair of lungs.)
He used words like "quite remarkable", "amazed", and kept referencing how he knew we were praying and God must be answering. He said Cade's reaction was beyond what they had expected, and that it was amazing to see them dissolve so quickly.
What is most amazing to me about this news is how very unimpressed Cade is with the actual results. I think he has felt healed for a while now, and he randomly mentions the honey of God in his body and the blood of Jesus. Strange things for a little five-year-old to think about, but this is a strange circumstance. I'll take it as encouragement that he likes communion already (featuring apple juice and Dave's Killer Bread heel slices). He told us Jesus spoke to him while he was in the CT machine, and told Him "Don't be afraid, I'm with you and I rose from the dead." WHAT
Before scans, I prayed that the scan results would be SO GOOD that it would be like a bomb going off in the spiritual realm. Shrapnel would hit everyone who heard or read about it, and their hearts would come alive again to HOPE and have faith in the goodness of God. I am praying that as you even read this, if you have a physical thing going on, you would feel Jesus healing you. If in the early church shadows and cloths that touched Paul and Peter were used to heal people, I am praying that iphone screens and blogs will do the same. I am asking that Cade's healing would be the first domino in a long line of miraculous healings. Why? Because like Hosea 3:4 says, "they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days." Let's pray that God's goodness would get super super famous.
The further we progress in this journey, the more clearly I feel that the war for most of us is the confidence in God's goodness. In fact, I think it was Eve's first suspicion in the garden. What if God is not good? And when circumstances line up, as they often do, to create a very dark landscape, it is easy to give up hope.
One of the most bizarre things in processing this week is how quickly I felt the tension of seeing Cade's good results, but realizing there are still hospitals full of kids who are in need of a praying church, praying friends, and the healing that comes from God.
In the depths of my soul, I feel triumph this week. Triumph in a restless way. It's like the first taste of it, and I want more. I am burning inside to see more kids healed. To see more hearts blaze again with hope in God. This is not the end of the battle. In many ways, this is the beginning of seeing Jesus triumph. I am not content with just Cade's triumph. I want triumph for so many others, and I want to continue to walk in an attitude of triumph for the rest of my life when anything rises up against me. I love how Isaiah 9 says "of the INCREASE of [Jesus'] government and peace there will be no end."
Jesus' power has no limit. Cade's good scans do not mean a temporary deficit in the power of God until He gets filled back up, I am praying it is truly the first trickle of a dam about to burst loose. May the deluge of hope and goodness of God get all over anyone who hears about Cade.
Just how the bread and fish Jesus multiplied always came with abundant left overs, and how the fish caught in Peter's nets always were so plenty that the nets began to break, I am praying that the healing in Cade actually is part of an increase so great our minds will get even more blown. I am asking God for full restitution for Cade - repayment in every area- but I don't just want one miraculous kidney for Cade and a new pair of lungs for Cade, I want 100 fold fruit. One hundred healthy kidneys and 100 pairs of healthy lungs, 100 kids in treatment with chemo and radiation coming out unscathed.
One of my favorite stories of healing in the Bible is in Luke 5:
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said, “be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him
I want to lay hold of the willingness of Jesus.
We still have many months left ahead of us in this journey, and even right now, Cade is hospitalized with a high fever. We still need practical prayer in many areas, but we are so thankful for the results of the scan and the new wind they've put in our sails.
This week, we would love prayer for:
1. Cade's fever to break and for no signs of bacteria to show up on his blood cultures, and for his white blood cell count to go up.
2. Protection over Cade's bladder and kidney- we are seeing a renal specialist this week to check out his remaining kidney. Please pray his kidney functions perfectly. These chemos we've given recently have caused some bleeding in his bladder, and this weekend there were some signs of unusual things for his kidney. We are praying both resolve, and that he thrives.
3. Wisdom for our oncologist to adjust or modify treatment when necessary: we have moved to an oncologist still connected with Riley that is closer to our house, and we are praying for her to have perfect wisdom on what places in treatment we need to modify for Cade's kidney and bladder to be protected.
4. Please continue to pray for endurance for all of us- as we take on possibly another week apart and look at weeks of treatment ahead. We need new strength for each day!
I've been praying Isaiah 41 over Cade recently, so I'm listing it out below. Thank you for praying with us!
You'd think this blog would be the easiest one to write. But this week felt like it lasted a month, and I never had time to sit down and really focus. But! Now is a good time to recount the wonderful works of God, and to say with all my heart that I believe the tailwind of Cade's scan results is healing and faith for every person who reads or hears about him.
March 19th will forever be one of my favorite days.
When we were first given a scan date, it was written on a little sheet of paper and I was so terrified of it I could not even touch the paper. If I didn't know what a coward I can be before this, I certainly know it now. I find so much comfort in simple verses like Psalm 18, "I love you, O Lord my strength," and 1 Corinthians 1 where it says "foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." There is no one in all of creation like God. He can handle and look squarely in the face every fear and reality we know without flinching. HALLELUJAH.
About ten days out from our scans I started to emotionally leak everywhere. Chad and I went out for a date while my Mom was here (who is thankful for a Mom who drops everything to watch your kids in crises?!) and we had a pretty epic conversation.
"I feel like we are supposed to up our faith in the next ten days," Chad told me. The minute he said that, I heard a door click open in my heart. The month of inpatient stays and fear had taken a toll on me, and I felt stuck in the hallway of uncertainty. When Chad spoke those words, I felt a door in my heart to hope swing open.
This past weekend Chad said we needed to fast anxiety and worry for the weekend rather than food. That may sound easier, but try it, I dare you. Setting mental parameters up against fear and anxiety when scans were looming was LIFE CHANGING.
Monday morning dawned, and I put Cade in a sweater that said "Legend". I did it praying his story would be so awesome it would become legend.
After scans, we waited. And while we waited, my emotions were flummoxing between total despair and total fear. I turned on Rita Springer's Never Lost that afternoon, and for the first time my heart got above the circumstances.
The lows of this journey have felt terrifyingly stark at times, but there is ALWAYS a high that is even higher than I ever knew existed. There is a place when I meet with God where my heart soars- and nothing touches me there. Some of you know what I am talking about, because God is actually MORE real than a diagnosis, a tragedy, a feeling, a whole lifetime of loss. He is really really true.
Right as we sat down to dinner, the phone rang.
"I have fantastic news," were the first words our oncologist said. Cade's tumors, which were the largest lung tumors he had ever seen, have virtually dissolved. What remains on scans they believe are dying clumps of tissue that either the body will break down or will remain as just the aftermath of tumors. (Between you and I, I am praying that those place will also dissolve, and when they scan his lungs next they will literally think they're looking at a new pair of lungs.)
He used words like "quite remarkable", "amazed", and kept referencing how he knew we were praying and God must be answering. He said Cade's reaction was beyond what they had expected, and that it was amazing to see them dissolve so quickly.
What is most amazing to me about this news is how very unimpressed Cade is with the actual results. I think he has felt healed for a while now, and he randomly mentions the honey of God in his body and the blood of Jesus. Strange things for a little five-year-old to think about, but this is a strange circumstance. I'll take it as encouragement that he likes communion already (featuring apple juice and Dave's Killer Bread heel slices). He told us Jesus spoke to him while he was in the CT machine, and told Him "Don't be afraid, I'm with you and I rose from the dead." WHAT
Before scans, I prayed that the scan results would be SO GOOD that it would be like a bomb going off in the spiritual realm. Shrapnel would hit everyone who heard or read about it, and their hearts would come alive again to HOPE and have faith in the goodness of God. I am praying that as you even read this, if you have a physical thing going on, you would feel Jesus healing you. If in the early church shadows and cloths that touched Paul and Peter were used to heal people, I am praying that iphone screens and blogs will do the same. I am asking that Cade's healing would be the first domino in a long line of miraculous healings. Why? Because like Hosea 3:4 says, "they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days." Let's pray that God's goodness would get super super famous.
The further we progress in this journey, the more clearly I feel that the war for most of us is the confidence in God's goodness. In fact, I think it was Eve's first suspicion in the garden. What if God is not good? And when circumstances line up, as they often do, to create a very dark landscape, it is easy to give up hope.
One of the most bizarre things in processing this week is how quickly I felt the tension of seeing Cade's good results, but realizing there are still hospitals full of kids who are in need of a praying church, praying friends, and the healing that comes from God.
In the depths of my soul, I feel triumph this week. Triumph in a restless way. It's like the first taste of it, and I want more. I am burning inside to see more kids healed. To see more hearts blaze again with hope in God. This is not the end of the battle. In many ways, this is the beginning of seeing Jesus triumph. I am not content with just Cade's triumph. I want triumph for so many others, and I want to continue to walk in an attitude of triumph for the rest of my life when anything rises up against me. I love how Isaiah 9 says "of the INCREASE of [Jesus'] government and peace there will be no end."
Jesus' power has no limit. Cade's good scans do not mean a temporary deficit in the power of God until He gets filled back up, I am praying it is truly the first trickle of a dam about to burst loose. May the deluge of hope and goodness of God get all over anyone who hears about Cade.
Just how the bread and fish Jesus multiplied always came with abundant left overs, and how the fish caught in Peter's nets always were so plenty that the nets began to break, I am praying that the healing in Cade actually is part of an increase so great our minds will get even more blown. I am asking God for full restitution for Cade - repayment in every area- but I don't just want one miraculous kidney for Cade and a new pair of lungs for Cade, I want 100 fold fruit. One hundred healthy kidneys and 100 pairs of healthy lungs, 100 kids in treatment with chemo and radiation coming out unscathed.
One of my favorite stories of healing in the Bible is in Luke 5:
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said, “be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him
I want to lay hold of the willingness of Jesus.
We still have many months left ahead of us in this journey, and even right now, Cade is hospitalized with a high fever. We still need practical prayer in many areas, but we are so thankful for the results of the scan and the new wind they've put in our sails.
This week, we would love prayer for:
1. Cade's fever to break and for no signs of bacteria to show up on his blood cultures, and for his white blood cell count to go up.
2. Protection over Cade's bladder and kidney- we are seeing a renal specialist this week to check out his remaining kidney. Please pray his kidney functions perfectly. These chemos we've given recently have caused some bleeding in his bladder, and this weekend there were some signs of unusual things for his kidney. We are praying both resolve, and that he thrives.
3. Wisdom for our oncologist to adjust or modify treatment when necessary: we have moved to an oncologist still connected with Riley that is closer to our house, and we are praying for her to have perfect wisdom on what places in treatment we need to modify for Cade's kidney and bladder to be protected.
4. Please continue to pray for endurance for all of us- as we take on possibly another week apart and look at weeks of treatment ahead. We need new strength for each day!
I've been praying Isaiah 41 over Cade recently, so I'm listing it out below. Thank you for praying with us!
“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 “All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.
12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.
13 For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
I will continue to join in prayer for Cade (the Warrior). Without a doubt, his story is having an eternal impact. May the Lord continue to hold your family closer than ever, and may His healing continue to pour out, in Jesus' name!
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