“Confessions of a Bad Christian” – Round 3

I am going to post updates about Joni here for awhile as well as at her site. Here is the latest post from Sharing the Journey.


Chemotherapy reminds me of the original Rocky movie. You take a beating, get back up, take a beating, get back up. Rocky had one goal in mind and that was to go the distance. As you got caught up in the drama you wondered how he could keep getting back on his feet and continuing. For Rocky there was no choice.


Adrian: Why do you wanna fight?
Rocky
: Because I can’t sing or dance.

As Rocky surmised, sometimes you don’t have many good options. In that movie Rocky fought the invincible Apollo Creed. No fighter had ever gone the distance against him.


Joni is fighting a foe that is also intimidating but not invincible. Many of her sisters have fought and vanquished this foe. It is hard for me to watch her get back up and head to the next round. But we know that each round brings us closer to the finish.


One memorable scene in Rocky occurs before the big fight. After all the fear and preparation were over Adrian and Rocky shared this moment.


Adrian: [just before the big fight] I’ll be here waiting for you.
Rocky
: How ’bout I stay here and you fight?


Our roles are reversed. I have to wait and Joni has to fight. I wish we could switch. But for now my role is to be Joni’s corner man in this fight. Round 3 of chemotherapy is this Thursday.


Here are the prayer requests for this round.



  • Pray that her blood counts will not drop to dangerous levels
  • Pray that the side effects will be manageable
  • Pray for Joni’s encouragement
  • Pray that I will be a good “corner man“
  • Pray that we will continue to put our trust in the Great Physician
  • Pray that we will not “waste this cancer” and that God will be glorified through it

We know that we have a constant source of strength. Paul wrote to Timothy these words. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”


Joni is remarkable. She will get back up and re-enter the chemotherapy ring. This is scheduled to be an eight round chemo fight. We look forward to the day when Joni has defeated this fearsome foe. I also look forward to our version of the exchange between Rocky and Apollo Creed. As you recall, Rocky won the fight and inflicted some damage himself. A battered Creed and Rocky have this memorable exchange.


Apollo Creed: Ain’t gonna be no rematch.
Rocky
: Don’t want one.


That is the reason for this chemo battle. We are praying that there “ain’t gonna be no rematch.“ Your prayers and love make a difference.