Have you noticed my crown?  I’ve apparently got one. Proverbs 12:4 says, “A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown.”  😄 Each passing day leaves me more impressed with Vicki’s noble character of faith, courage, and stamina.  Praise the Lord, her cancer remains in remission, even as the effects of biweekly chemo gradually accumulate.

Neuropathy in her feet blocks the feedback we all need for balance, and Vicki has survived several serious falls in the last year, the latest on Easter Day.  Thankfully she’s managed to narrowly miss objects that could have caused major injury! The steroids that are so instrumental in keeping cancer cells at bay have also thinned her skin to the point that the normal bumps and scrapes of life cause immediate bruising & bleeding.  She’s self-conscious of the many dark spots and band-aids on her hands and arms, but each reminds me of how much she has endured.

General fatigue, sleeplessness, and sciatic nerve pain have become a way of life, though insufficient to prevent our wintering in Arizona or making plans for camping and several other trips in the months ahead, Lord willing.  Quality rather than quantity of life remains our motto.

Vicki’s doctor’s recent discovery of skin cancer has given us something new to focus on – at least in the near term – and she’ll have surgery to remove it in about two weeks. What a blessing to have access to superior healthcare!

My devotional study yesterday highlighted the difference between happiness and joy.  I resonated with the author’s view that happiness is a product of our circumstances while joy is a product of our perspective. Vicki’s cancer was first diagnosed in October of 2019, and since that time it’s been a roller coaster of emotions – our “happiness” has ebbed and flowed.  But throughout this journey, our fundamental sense of joy in the life God has granted us and our hope for the future has not been lessened in any way.  Thanks again to each of you who have carried this burden with us and lightened the load through prayer and good wishes.