It is Saturday night in Coral Springs, FL and I’m sitting in a motel room with Brody and his mother, sister, and mimi. As I sit and contemplate the past month my mind is reminded of the roller coaster ride it has been. The emotional ups and downs have been at times almost overwhelming. There is a grieving process that goes with this journey.  When the doctor told us in early December that Brody’s eye would probably need to come out, the grieving process began. It’s hard to explain. It wasn’t so much fear, or anxiety, but grief! It has seemed like a cloud hanging over us. It has been a tough month. But I am happy to say that the cloud has been lifted! God is so good! There are still many questions that are left unanswered and we still have not heard “cancer free,” but we have such a peace.

This weekend has been tough, but we are rejoicing in God’s strength through the battle. A good friend of ours messaged us with these true words: “Miracles coming, wonder how long it’s been since this number of praying folks were in one accord for one very special little boy and family!” Wow! So true! So many people have been praying, including many of you who are reading this message. We have heard from people praying from Africa, the Bahamas, Asia, and all over the U.S.A. It’s been incredible. The outpouring of prayer for our little warrior has been amazing. We are so humbled by the whole experience. Well I’m glad to say that God answered our prayers. Not exactly the way we were hoping, but we are convinced for the best.

When Dr. Murray examined Brody on Friday, he came out and reported to Casey that Brody’s condition had worsened. He said that the tumor was not only active again, but growing. He said we have no choice,the eye MUST come out. When Casey came out of the consultation she looked at me and Beth and said, “I guess we didn’t get our miracle.” That’s about all she could say at the time. The surgery went well and within a few hours the eye was out and headed for the lab and a pathology report. As we sat with Brody in the hospital, waiting for him to wake up, we talked. Together we agreed that the cloud had been lifted! We all felt such a sense of peace. We won’t have the pathology report for 2 weeks, but once again, we have peace. The report will tell us whether or not the cancer has spread into the optic nerve, but we have peace. We know that our Great God is in full control.

After the crisis moment passed, we all agreed that we did get our miracle. Brody’s eye was not healed, but we had our miracle. How so?

1)  Brody is alive and enjoying a game of UNO right now! He is laughing, joking, and wanting his eye patch off.

2)  God has miraculously provided financially. Through generous people, God has met our needs incredibly.

3)  God has unified Christans arround the world and brought us together for a common cause in prayer.

4)  God has made Himself known through Brody’s battle.

5)  God has brought a strong sense of unity and prayer to The Orchard! This church continues to blow me away!

6)  God has brought churches together! I think this is the way God intended church to be. Churches praying and working for common causes. The common cause in this case was a little boy with cancer.

7)  Our family has been so greatly encouraged, affirmed, edified, and blessed by our friends, family, and even people who don’t know us.

I could go on but I hope you get the point. We have our miracle. The miracle of grace! God’s grace has amply supplied, strengthened, sustained, protected, guided, guarded, comforted, and rescued us! To Him be the glory! It has not been easy, but God has been more than sufficient! It has been a painful process but we have truly learned that Peace is not the absence of pain, but the promise of His presence. The battle is far from over, but we continue to trust God from whom all blessings flow!

We love you and thank you for your prayerful support!

Pastor Eddie

My reading in 2011 was very rewarding! I had the opportunity to read many books and gained much from each one. Here are a few of the books that I read this year. They are given in no particular order. Continue Reading »

We preparing to take the next step on Brody’s journey to good health. Brody has been bravely battling to keep his eye for a year and a half now. Continue Reading »

Finally a Break! Casey has been taking Brody to Miami twice a month since the first of the year. Needless to say this has been a pretty grueling schedule for our little warrior and his mommy and mimi. The monthly EUA’s bring another opportunity for hope as we long to hear the Doctor say that we can stop the chemo. I must admit that it seemed it would never come, but this morning (Friday) we got the word that we had been waiting to hear…no chemo this month! Now granted it is only a one month reprieve, but at this point even a one month break is WELCOME! The Good News continued…Dr. Murray says that Brody’s eye looks better and stable! He wants to see how the tumor reacts without the treatment and then evaluate the progress when Brody goes back in December for his EUA. The Doctor was careful to point out that there is still some concern because it was so bad when we started, but for now Brody has a month off! Finally a Break! Thanks for your persistent prayers and concerns!

Blessings!

Sometimes we forget that things are not always as they appear! Brody has been doing so well that we sometimes forget that there is cancer in his body. However, this week we were reminded that Brody’s Battle is not over! Continue Reading »

Progress is sometimes hard to determine, but Dr. Murray assures us that we are seeing progress. Brody went to Miami this weekend for his monthly Evaluation Under Anesthesia. The Report was good, but stressful. Good because Dr. Murray could see results from the extended chemo treatment and the tumor is smaller. Stressful because he said more chemo is needed. So the roller coaster ride continues. This trip down to Miami seemed a bit more trying than others, perhaps because Brody spent his birthday in Miami. Of course that probably bothers us more than it does him. In fact, he excitedly told me on the phone Thursday night that he was in Applebees and the waitresses sang “Happy Birthday” to him and brought him some ice-cream! He was so pleased!

Thank you for continuing to pray for our little warrior! He continues to amaze us. When he goes to Miami he is very brave. Brody goes back to Miami on Thursday for more chemo.   Please continue to pray for his mom. I know she is getting tired and weary of the battle. She continues to lean on the Strong Arm of her Savior and covets your prayers!  Blessings!

Memorial Day is drawing to a close, but I can’t let it end without sharing some of my thoughts. It has been a great day. I have been trying to “practice what I preach” today and make this Memorial Day more than just another day of fun in the sun. I will say unapologetically, that we did have some great fun in the sun today! My daughter Casey and her troop came over last night and stayed until mid afternoon today. We had all the grandkids last night and then a full day of fun in the pool at John and Angela’s house today. The Grandkids had a great time and wore G-Daddy out! However, the day was not absent from time to think, ponder, and remember.

Continue Reading »

This weekend I have been reminded why this battle against cancer is so difficult. The journey is filled with ups and downs. This weekend we experienced a down moment. When I made the decision to journal my thoughts and experiences through this journey I promised myself that I would be honest and share my true feelings. It would seem much easier to leave out the low moments and only talk about the highs, but that would be less than honest. Continue Reading »

Stable. That is the word used by Dr. Murray this morning. Brody went to Miami for his monthly EUA and laser treatment this morning and the word back from the Doctor was “stable.” Continue Reading »

Today is the day! After worship at The Orchard this morning we leave for Kenya. I am excited about the ministry opportunities,but not so excited about the travel. Back to back 9 hour flights and rough roads in Kenya make for difficult travel. But God has surely ordained this trip Continue Reading »