I am grateful tonight for kind nurses who call me on the phone and have such compassion and talk to me like they have known me for years, when we have never met or spoken until now.

I am grateful for the things that take my mind off the knot in my stomach today – the work, the sweet dog, the dinner to be made, the topic on the radio.

I am grateful for a phone call this morning and the sound of Aunt Patsy and Uncle Charlie offering words of encouragement and support, Uncle Charlie quoting from Psalm 12.

I am grateful for friends who show up on a Sunday night to unload our truck after a very long weekend and drive.

I am grateful for my bed. There is nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed, and the longer we deal with our current crisis, the more we appreciate that bed and our pillows.

I am grateful for Sam’s hand to hold, for his reassurance, for the knowing smiles between us, for the wink he gives me as he sits in the doctor’s office on that crinkly paper-covered exam bed – he senses my fragile inside and knows how to comfort a weary wife.

I am grateful for a friend who delivers dinner to a hotel room WITHOUT asking, “What can I do to help you guys…”, she just does, and she does it complete with ice cream and a box of Nestle Quik for dessert.

I am grateful for my employers who are so understanding and allow the time needed for countless appointments.

I am grateful tonight for our devotion today on 2 Corinthians 12:9. I love this:

Prior to God’s revelation to Paul of the sufficiency of grace, Paul viewed his problem as an interference in his life. After God’s revelation, Paul viewed his problem as an opportunity to give thanks – not for the problem, but for how the problem allowed him to experience deeper dimensions of Christ’s sufficiency. 

You likely have some kind of problem today – perhaps large, perhaps small. In any case, your problem is a reason for placing your trust and hope in Christ. In Him, there is sufficient help and comfort for any problem.

There are knots in my stomach, knots between my shoulder blades, knots in my tongue. But I am grateful tonight for the knot in our relationship, the one that binds us together and allows us to be a fighting force against this cancer.