What is glory anyway?
I remember learning ages ago that "to glorify God" was the answer to "Why were we created?"
Isaiah 43:7.. everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made
What is glory?
I think of the positive, magnificent, ethereal, bright splendid light and the ultimate of goodness.
A field of Easter Lilies blooming in the pure sunshine.
Light.
A Christmas Tree with the white clear lights.
Singing. Preferably people with good voices, but not necessarily. People meaning what they sing.
Sunshine rays streaming down through a cloud.
What does the dictionary say?
a : praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent
b : worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving glory to God
So, the point is to honor and praise God by everything we do. PHEW, I will need His help on this. Which is the whole point!
Have you noticed that when you are thinking of an issue, you notice it everywhere. I have been thinking of "Giving God Glory." I want to be more transparent, yet not be afraid to act as He wants me to. In this Sunday's sermon, Isaac said he had a professor who said the world was made of two kinds of people, those who enter a room and say, "Here I am," and those who enter a room and say, "There you are."
Which am I?
The second group gets it, they are giving God the glory.
I want to be in the second group...
Remember Elizabeth, Zechariah's wife, mother of John the Baptist. She was a "There you are " person. Think back. She was anciently old (probably my age), and she finally got the wish of her heart, she became pregnant. At six months time, Mary came to visit her. Mary was all exuberant that she was pregnant. Elizabeth, instead of gushing about how SHE was pregnant too, responded with true joy and adoration for Mary.
That would have been hard. I would have said, "You're pregnant, how cool! So am I, and let me tell you how I heard I was preggers..."
BLAAAH... wrong....
Wouldn't it be fun to be Elizabeth's friend? She hears others' news and truly is taken into the moment, sharing their joy or their sadness.
So to glorify God, we are doing the actions on earth to love others as He would. To be present in THAT moment of THEIR lives. I need to keep this as my prayer all day long. How quickly we can forget it.
Here's an example. Of someone who wasn't even present in her own moment. Who was a There You Are person, until she had a crisis....
In radiation therapy, you have the same time of appointment every week day. At 9:45 right before me is an older woman with a portable oxygen tank and a beige hat. She is just a delight. I am 10:00. At 10:15 is a drop dead gorgeous young woman, with the most beautiful elbow length brown hair, always in high heels and with make up on. She only had twenty treatments scheduled (because her breasts are smaller she says) and she always has a smile and something positive to say to me, You are one-third the way there, or, You are looking good today. We have one minute conversations while passing in the hall. She has always been very encouraging and sweet.
Today was her last day, we all knew that. You form intimate yet anonymous relationships in the treatment rooms. The technicians are so so friendly. (Mike and I had our photo in the local paper this weekend, I arrived Monday to see it taped to the wall!) You are going through similar things as the other patients, so you talk. About sunburns and bras and wigs, etc.
I came out of the treatment room and saw the young woman with beautiful brown hair sitting in the waiting chair grumpy. I said, Today's your last day, are you celebrating? She said, No. This weekend we had all our equipment stolen, even my personal computer. Out of our truck. I said, Oh dear. She went on, I'm a singer, and it was all stolen after our gig in Miami. Insurance will pay for it, but it is a pain. Is it her insurance or theirs? I had to rent equipment in the Dominican Republic for next week, and for Philadelphia this weekend. I don't feel like celebrating at all. I am angry. Yesterday I was upset, but today I am angry. Really angry. I will never go back to Miami. I hate Miami.
I stood there incredulous. I wanted to say, Have you not learned ANYTHING? You are alive, you are done with cancer, you are healed. That is just STUFF!
But I didn't. I talked with her a few minutes, the tech came out and listened, waiting for me. I said, Well, in a year you will look back on today and see the irony of it all. I am so sorry this happened to you. I am sure your singing will still be great, and the audiences won't notice a thing. I don't know what else I said. I ended with, I am so happy for you for your good health, and went in for my #19.
I am wondering who she was. There has been a white stretch limousine in the parking lot, I have noticed the past few weeks. Could it be hers?
She has been so encouraging of me every day, always saying something uplifting. A There You Are person. But not today. I didn't feel bad for me in the least that she didn't say something to encourage me. I felt so sorry for her that she couldn't see the joy in today that was far greater than having things stolen. Yes, things stolen is terrible. But come on, cancer treatment done? That trumps it all, if you ask me.
I don't want to forget how lucky / blessed / loved / precious I am every day, as are each of us. Someone said, I'm sick of people saying they are 'Over the hill', when they could be thankful they are not 'Under the hill.'
It comes down to being thankful doesn't it?
And how can I be thankful, if I am not still.
For when I am still, I see and feel God's presence in my life.
When I am busy as a bumble bee, I am not looking at Him. I'm just dizzy.
So then, particularly in this advent season, let me "Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46.
Only then can I truly love Him by loving others.
Maybe that's giving Him the glory.
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Notes on how radiation is physically going-
I just finished number 19 of 33.
They are doing IMRT now, which means they do two short x-rays before each treatment, have been doing this all last week as well. The radiologist comes in, tweaks the settings on the radiation machine called Trilogy based on the two x-rays, and then they zap me. Takes about fifteen minutes instead of two minutes. But they have Christmas Carols playing, and good humored technicians. Today they were teasing K because she had never tasted a Krispy Kreme donut. And they don't laugh if I sing along to the carols. At least they don't laugh in front of me.
On Thursday I have a long appointment to get calibrated for my BOOST radiations, which are treatment numbers 25 - 33. They target the lumpectomy site, which has the highest probability of recurrence. Good idea. I'm all on board for that.
Today was my last day of a real bra. The whole area is sunburned, so from now on it's a Gillian and O'Malley Barely There soft stretchy sort-of-a sports compression bra but lighter. The nurses suggested wearing no bra, but that's not going to happen. You don't want the skin to blister. NO I DON'T. I am using aloe from a plant morning and night, and a little lavender oil (which is supposed to prevent skin from burning). Immediately after the treatments I am putting on Aquaphor. The radiation site (from center of my chest around to the back, including the armpit) is red and swollen.
My tendons are still aching in the 'watershed' areas, which means they are the tendons that get the least amount of vascular action and therefore take the longest to rebound after any motion. Upper arm and shoulder, fingers, bottoms of feet, top of thigh and hip. Advil works great, as does the stretching of yoga. This ache is due to the strong antibiotics (Avelox and Levoquin) I have been told, and should fade with time. It is fading with time. Anything that fades with time is okay by me.
Funny itchy rash on right leg knee to ankle. The reason? It was pointed out to me again that my body was given chemo for five months, and unusual things happen. It is going away slowly, cortisone cream helped. I am tired, more than normal. I will get more tired over the next two months, I am told. Then it too will fade. I can't drink coffee, I tried it all last week and it makes my esophagus feel raw. I have had gastric reflux issues forever. So I'm drinking Yogi Tea - ENERGY. It has Kombacha, which gives you some zip. And that is working. Put up the outside wreaths today, putting up Christmas decorations is proof of energy in my book.
The hair is coming back. How FUN! My head feels like the boys did when they were little and just got a crew cut. The eyebrows are all short and stubby, coming back. YEAH!
Angry Birds put out a Christmas Edition. How fun is that...
