Deki’s bout with leukemia re-opens one of the lasting questions of mankind:  why does God allow pain and suffering?  It is right there on the continuum, somewhere between fender benders with trees and the massive suffering imposed by the communist regimes of the USSR and China.  What becomes important is that it is personal.

There are lots of people who have written about pain:  Phillip Yancey (Where is God when it Hurts), CS Lewis (The Problem of Pain), Rebecca McLaughlin (Confronting Christianity), Timothy Keller (Walking with God through Pain and Suffering), and a host of others.   Whole books?  That alone tells you there is no simple answer, and so I won’t deal with that here.

What I can tell you is that, in the midst of trouble and suffering, God blessed us in many small ways that made the whole experience easier to bear.  For example:

> Snoqualmie Pass was only closed to us about 3 times – and each time, the alternative route, through Portland and east on I-84, was safe:  no ice snow, no ice.  Probably the most significant was the final trip:  all the routes through Washington were closed, there was a landslide on I-84 in Oregon, and when that was cleared up I-5 closed near Centralia due to flooding.  We made it home in only 9 hours. 

> We never got into a car accident.  Words cannot express who grateful I am for this alone.  And, in spite of most parking outside, our car was never vandalized.  And our car made it to 250,000 miles (almost 400,000 Kilometers…that sounds so much more impressive!)

> Jack & I were never sick during those 27 months.  I have been joking to people I’d be sick the day after treatment ended.  Well, now I have Covid.  (Along with Jack, Laurie, Chris, and the kids.)  But it didn’t start until after we got back; and after the laundry was done, the Christmas tree taken down, and the house cleaned.  This is the perfect time, all things considered, to be sick, especially for Deki, as he is no longer taking immuno-suppressant drugs.  Plus, everyone seems to be improving, last of all me and Jack (being old, I guess). Jack thinks it is more as being last to be infected.

But the most important things are the people who have supported us through this whole affair; writing, calling, praying, talking…that is you, dear readers!  Imagine my surprise on day 3 of this to walk into Deki’s hospital room to find my brother Stuart, complete with wizard length beaded beard, talking to Deki in bed!  My sister Susie was also a constant presence, always willing to come and visit if even for a couple hours when we were in town.  (You have to live in Seattle to know what that means, especially because the West Seattle Bridge is still under repair.  It takes her hours to get anywhere!)  And Covid permitting!  And finally, reconnecting with Jack’s Dad Herb, where we discovered where Jack got his sense of humor and inability to smile for the camera.

So, although the world took a strange direction with Deki’s leukemia, God found ways to turn it into good. We also thank God for a good end to treatment, and pray for complete remission.