This Valentine’s Day is different. Oh, I have the same valentine but having her as my valentine means a little more this year. In just five weeks we will mark (not celebrate) the anniversary of diagnosis day. Having walked with Joni through eleven long months of chemotherapy and radiation has made my love and appreciation for her grow even deeper. I was listening to the old iPod today and a song by the Turtles summed up the current state of the marital union. Cue booming announcer voice…
Let’s take you back forty years to the spring of 1967 when a California rock group hit number one with this song…Happy Together.
I think about you day and night, it’s only right
To think about the girl you love and hold her tight
So happy together
I can’t see me lovin’ nobody but you
For all my life
When you’re with me, baby the skies’ll be blue
For all my life
We are so happy to be together. More than ever. Solomon wrote a chapter in Proverbs that is most often used to warn about avoiding temptation and the dangers that lurk with unfaithfulness. But lost in the negatives of that chapter is this wonderful bit of positive advice.
Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you.
Rejoice in the wife of your youth. Proverbs 5:18 NLT
I have often joked that I married my trophy wife first and got it over with. But the truth is that I did not always appreciate the bride that God had given me. Thank God I slowed down long enough to realize that I am blessed beyond measure by this incredible woman. I have censored the first part of verse nineteen because the advice there is a bit personal…not that there is anything wrong with it. (I am pretty sure I just drove many of you to Proverbs).
I will pick up with last part of the verse…
May you always be captivated by her love.
I intend to do just that. She makes it easy.
Erica Senecal
Dear Dave & Joni,
I "just happened" to find your blog entitled, "Do It Anyway", on Crosswalk tonight. That led me to read a few of your other blogs, including this one. I know it is God that led me here. I want to encourage you because although we’ve only just "met", I can already see why He has. "So Happy Together" could be words that my own dad would use for my mom this year. You see, about this time last year, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully, they have relationships with Jesus and have trusted Him through all the ups and downs. We are also grateful to say that my mom has been healed, divinely and medically. She went through 2 rounds of chemo, a mastectomy, lymph node removal, reconstruction, and is currently having radiation. She has to go every 3 weeks for the next year for a shot of herceptin. Early on, the Lord clearly told me (more than once) that my mother would go through a very difficult time, but that she would not die from cancer. In May of 2005, He had given me a specific Psalm to share with her, which I did. In May of 2006, she shared with my sister, brother, and I that she had been diagnosed with the breast cancer. At first, they found spots in three or four other places in her body as well. She went to a place called the Healing Rooms. They prayed over her and gave her several Scriptures to read daily. They told her to pray using these Scriptures often because God’s Word brings healing, of course, Jesus is God’s Word, and faith in Him brings healing as well. And after further testing, a different oncologist at a better hospital discovered that all the other spots were not cancer. The doctors explained what each spot actually was, but Mom’s oncologist was shocked by what she saw… what was there was gone a week or two later! My mother firmly believes God intervened! I know it’s not the case for every Christian… i recognize God is sovereign and He has His reasons for healing one person and not another. In fact, one of the reasons I went to Crosswalk tonight was because i just received an email that Jenny, a 30 year old wife and mother of 4 little ones, died tonight. She held onto a promise that God repeatedly gave her… that she would not die from Ovarian cancer. Tonight, I hurt for her husband, children, and their family and friends. I only met her once when she came to give her testimony at our chruch September 06 but God laid her on my heart to pray often for her and the family. So, while I rejoice in my mother’s healing, I hurt for those who haven’t experienced it yet. Last week, two members of our church, one of them our Missions pastor (35 yrs old) & the other a 25 year old woman, died on their way home from a missions conference. Last night, I watched Pastor Eric’s funeral over the internet b/c we weren’t able to attend it last week.
I feel like I am babbling. I had never heard of you until tonight. I am very interested in buying both of your books, esp. "Bring Em Back Alive". In December, I found a book by Philip Yancey entitled, "Where is God When it Hurts?" the Lord began to use that book to teach me just what you were discussing in "Do It Anyway". As many people do, I have my own hurts. I tend to hold onto them instead of releasing them to God. And that causes trouble. You know what amazes me, though? In the past three years, I have watched four different families hurt because God chose to take a young loved one away "too early". I have also watched them stand by God and continue to love Jesus through their pain. I watched my parents, through intense fear and pain of what might happen, hold onto Jesus. I watched my parents intensely covet the prayers of friends, family, even strangers.
It seems to me that it’s really hard to make sense of pain and hurt. It’s hard to keep my eyes on His truth when there is so much heartache. But I know the truth is that He is faithful. He is True. He is always with us, never leaving nor forsaking His children. He does love us with an everlasting love.
I suppose it hurts God to love us so much, just as it sometimes hurts us to love others. Many times, I make the choice to put up the walls instead of letting others in… because I’ve been hurt inthe past. But, you are right… if the walls stay there, I will not get hurt; however, I will not have the privilege of enjoying other people, either.
I’m glad God led me to your blog and your website. i will check it out more deeply. I hope that something I have said has been used by God to encourage you and your wife. Thank you for allowing God to use you to encourage others. We certainly need more of that!
Blessings,
Erica Senecal