“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”
The Hebrew word is salmawet, a combination of the two words for shadow (sel) and death (mawet). Most scholars believe this is a literary hyperbole, a superlative, to communicate the most extreme. The shadowiest of shadows. The deepest depths of death. Darkness. Fear. Failure. Loss. Suffering.
The kind of suffering that involves every part of a person — body, soul, and mind. The kind of suffering that impacts and dominates everything a person thinks and does. It’s constant. It’s overwhelming. It’s real.
And none of us is immune.
But the sufferer is assured of God’s comfort through these shadows. The psalmist encourages the reader to fear nothing while in the midst of the valley. The writer promises God’s goodness and love. And he anticipates living in the house of the Lord forever.
May the Lord work in and through our sufferings to reveal his power and love to those around us. And may we experience the gracious presence of our God and receive the abundance of life he offers, even in the midst of life on this earth as it presently is.
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Allright, here’s the latest on Whitney. The news from the MRI is all good. No tumor. No aneurysm. No abnormal blood vessels in the brain. All good news. However…
her optic nerves are still swollen and she’s still having the headaches in the back of her head. The doctors told us yesterday they’re convinced she has fluid behind her eyes, causing the pressure on her optic nerves resulting in the swelling and probably responsible for the headaches. So one week from today they’re going to do a ultrasound to measure the amount of fluid and hopefully get an indication of what it is. They’re hoping medication at that point will alleviate the problem. Maybe it’s being caused by an infection. But if after a couple of weeks nothing’s changed, the next step will be a spinal tap. Yuk. Nobody wants that.
So, while the worst case scenario has been eliminated, there is still a scenario out there we’re working toward. Praise God for the relief we feel now and the way he’s blessing Whitney and us. And may he continue to bless us with good news and healing for our oldest daughter’s well being.
Peace,
Allan
Praise God! We are so happy to hear that the “big” things have been eliminated.
We have been praying for Whitney every day, throughout the day. We’ll continue to pray that whatever this is will just disappear and that you will get the answers you want next week at the ultrasound.
Have a fun family weekend. Y’all be safe!
I was yelling a big ole Texas, “WHOOPIE!!” after Carrie-Anne called yesterday about Whitney. I called every person that I had in my cell phone to tell them the news…what an answered prayer. Now, those docs just have to figure out the “fluid” thing…no big, we will for sure pray for that, too!!
See ya’ll on Sunday, a birdie told me that it is someone’s birthday…..
Great news – praise God, and we will still keep praying for a total healing and for all of Whitney’s family.