Our Clan is Taking Over the World: A Link-Up in "Pages in Our Heritage of Faith"

We alternate holidays with our families. Christmas 2011 was a "Conder Christmas." We convene at my in-laws and commence the celebration. And part of that celebration is a new family picture. It's always amazing to see how many new faces have been added since the last picture, and how much more gray I have in my hair. :) 


Hannah has taken our picture the last couple of times and she does a beautiful job. This one was taken in the Welcome Center on the campus of Abilene Christian University. Our niece's sweet husband has "connections" so we could get in the building. With this many in the picture, the main goal for the photographer is simply to get as many people with their eyes open and looking toward the camera as possible. 


Amazingly, Hannah took this picture and then PhotoShop-ed herself into it. And Samuel, our grandson, was the only one not looking at the camera, so she took his head out of another one of the shots and stuck it on his body in this one. I assure you, the process was quite bloodless and painless.


As difficult as it is to coordinate an undertaking with this many variables, I'm so thankful everyone made the effort. Having a record of our time together is priceless. We always try to be thankful, but seeing this picture this week is especially precious.


You see, Grandpa has Multiple Myeloma.


He was diagnosed six years ago. And it broke the hearts of everyone in that picture.


It is not curable, medically. The goal in treatment is remission. He underwent a stem cell transplant that almost killed him. In preparation, the patient is given a substance that causes the body to produce millions of new stem cells. These are harvested. Then a massive dose of chemo is administered to kill off almost everything. For a month, Audie was deathly ill. 


We prayed.


For the past 5 1/2 years, he has not required any cancer treatment. None! And we have been blessed to have his presence in our lives, in the lives of our children. And the magnitude of that blessing is beyond description. We have savored every moment we've had in his presence. 


He and Marlene travel to M. D. Anderson every few months for routine checkups. We have been warned that it will come back. It's just a matter of when. Last week, when they went, one of the tests came back with elevated numbers. The doctors are concerned he may be coming out of remission. A follow up test after they returned home had some of the numbers back down to normal, and we are praising the Lord for that. 


They will return to Houston in a few weeks, instead of months, for the doctors to try and evaluate the situation more clearly. 


Spending part of last weekend with them, you would never have known they were facing anything other than the need to mow the yard or make plans to remodel their kitchen. They both walk in such Peace and Love that they are a blessing to everyone around them. 


We are praying for healing. That's what we all want. We want to keep both of them here with us forever because we love them so much. We know the Lord knows our hearts. And He Loves them more than we do! Because of that, we can all choose Peace. Even in the midst of circumstances that could break our hearts, He is Faithful and everything He allows into our lives is the most loving way for Him to accomplish His Purposes. And so we praise Him! We will praise Him for whatever path they are called to walk, trusting Him.


What an incredible God we serve! He is Worthy of all our praise, adoration, and confidence.

I would be blessed to read of His Faithfulness in your lives. Would you join us as we testify of His Faithfulness to us? It is amazing to see His Hand in our lives, His Presence with us as we walk through life. What more could we need or desire? He is Enough.