God is SO good

Tuesday and Wednesday were days between appointments.  None of us had anything planned those days, we were just rolling with whatever came our way and sounded appealing.  I had more residual pain from the surgery than I had expected, so we played it pretty low key for Tuesday.  Mom and Dad flew into Sugar Land on Wednesday and wanted to buy everyone lunch.   Everyone included Greg & Missy, Debby & Lori, Melissa, Lucy, Maggie, Mary, and me.  It was so great to see Dad and Mom (who's staying through the end of the month, at least) and to be able to answer Dad's questions about treatment, plans, housing, etc.  

Sometime during the day on Wednesday, Debby got a call from a church in Houston letting her know they had an apartment available and that we'd need to let them know ASAP if we wanted it.  Debby called me around 11am to let me know to call them.  I called the only number I had for the Church Apartment Ministry, left a message, and waited for a call back.  When the call came around 230, we were told that they had no knowledge of a place for us, and that it must have come directly from a church.  In a "Three Stooges" manner (gotta love cell phones!), 4 of us ended up driving about 15 minutes to see an apartment.  

This is where I really started to see God's hand.  Typically, the apartment would have been vacant and available about an hour before a patient and his/her family took advantage of having housing near the med. center.  We had more than half a day with an apartment sitting empty, and a volunteer from St. John's Presbyterian Church just waiting at the apartment for someone to come by and let her know they wanted it.  It is fully furnished, room for 4 to sleep, and only 6 miles from MD Anderson.  When we talked to Marie, the SJPC volunteer, she said that the only reason the apartment was still available was because her database was down and she couldn't update others to let them know it was available.  She said that must have meant God was holding it just for me and my family.  What a blessing!   If you'd like to send something to me directly, address it to me @ 5490 Braesvalley, # 369, Houston, TX 77096.  

Mary, Debby, Mom and I took a "test drive" to the hospital to see how long it would take us to get there, and somehow managed to get lost, even though there only appeared to be one turn between the two places.  We stopped for coffee after we found the hospital, then somehow managed to get turned around--again--on the way HOME from the hospital.  I was tired, hot, and frustrated, and I imagine Mary was as well.  Just when I think we were both about at our limits, I saw a sign for a Mediterranean restaurant I'd been wanting to try.  Mary pulled into the parking lot, and while I went in to order our dinner, she and Debby figured out where we were and how to get where we needed to go without any doubts.  When Debby asked what the purpose was of us getting lost, I told her that Mom needed to see that Mary and I could have some tension and still be all right in the long run.  God knows what we need so much more than we do!  

Today has been a different kind of day, and I'll write about it soon.  I'll just say this one thing, today is "my first day of chemo" and as of 515pm, I still haven't been admitted to the hospital.  More soon!