Today was Clay’s first radiation treatment. So many of you were praying for him as he had to stay in the mask for a while. He had to re-do the simulation and have a treatment today, so we assumed it would be twice as long (about 40 minutes) but we were wrong. It only took about 25 minutes.

We got to Pennington at 3 and waited a few minutes. The technicians were all wonderful and they took us back to show us everything at this location. We feel like experts already, so we were like, “Yeah, we know.” Ha! I’m saying that with tremendous sarcasm. This is one thing you don’t really want to know much about, but here we are.

My sweet friend, Kacie Causey, brought me this necklace this morning. It says “k (heart) c.” I know it’s kind of hard to see because my pic is not good. Isn’t that so thoughtful?? K does heart C, so it’s perfect. I felt like Kacie was there with us, like so many of you were.

Everyone together, now, say “Hallelujah!!!” Do you know what this picture is? That is Clay’s iPhone plugged into the sound system in the room! Thank you, Jesus! He got to listen to his own music. There is not much that can’t be solved by listening to Clay’s worship playlist. I’m telling you. I almost didn’t even ask, because we knew they had XM radio available, but he wanted HIS music. When the technician told me she thought we could do it, his eyes lit up. I told her to back up because he just might kiss her! It worked! So everyone got to listen to some church while he was getting his treatment.

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Can you hear the song? Living He loved me, dying He saved me….what powerful words to listen to when you are in a tough situation. Well, those words, and Jesus, got him through. He did great. Now, I’m gonna tell you the truth. He took a Xanex before we got there. When they told him that he would have to do a simulation and a treatment, he got pretty concerned, so the doc wrote us a prescription for Xanex. We felt like it would be better to take it, rather than regret not taking it. But, he did so well, that I think we’ll try tomorrow without the medicine. With all the medication going in his body over the next few weeks, we want to limit the number of meds as much as possible.

Oh, yeah! Did you notice his cute shaved face?? Doesn’t he look younger? On Monday, his face started itching when they put the mask on, so he decided it would be better to shave his face so he could avoid that miserable itchy feeling. He looks clean and handsome. Now, if his hair would just fall out. He likes his head shaved smooth, but we haven’t been able to shave it because of his scar. We have been told that the radiation can make hair fall out, but it might be splotchy, because it may only fall out where the radiation beams are being directed. So, his head make look a little funny for a while, but he can just live in a sock hat if he needs to.

I know you’ve all been praying for his vision to normalize. He told me today that he thinks it was better today than it has been in a long time. I was glad to hear him excited about improvement, even if it is small.

We drove through Smoothie King on the way home to get some calories and nutrition. It made him feel better, for sure. Then, as soon as we got home, our dear friend, Shannon, brought us dinner. My flag covered up her face in the pic, but it’s the only one I took! Sorry, Shannon! We love you and the food is so delicious. Thank you.

When I got home, there was a really nice plant on my kitchen counter. When I pulled the card, it was addressed to someone I’ve never met, and it said “Happy Birthday!” I called Sam and asked if he was here when it got delivered. He said, “Mom, the guy clearly said it was for Clay Furlow.” But the card was for someone else. So, when I called the florist, the other person had already called to say they got my plant. I felt so sorry for the delivery guy that I wanted to say, just keep them switched and just read me the card so I know who sent it. Well, am I ever glad that didn’t happen. Look at this beautiful plant!!!! My precious Lisa McCollister and her husband, David, sent this with a lovely card. I got the better plant, believe me! It is gorgeous. Thank you, Lisa and David. You are very special to us. And, you know from experience that God is a God of miracles. He can do it for us, too! Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.

We start the chemo tonight. Look at this packaging…

It just doesn’t give you a ‘warm and fuzzy’ feeling. Honestly, I feel a great deal of pressure to do all of this right. I have it all written on a calendar and I check off each pill he takes each day. God has given me the ability to manage it all, and I think often of all the times in my life I have had to manage a lot of information. God prepared me for this task. So, I know He will get me through it. And I trust that He won’t let me make a mistake, as long as my heart stays focused on Him and I take every precaution to do the best job that I can. Thank you, Jesus, for constantly reassuring me.

Press play on this song before you read the rest of this blog.

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We sang this song in church Sunday morning. I couldn’t do anything but just thank the Lord when I heard the words, “Forgetting all our sins, You remember all your promises.”

Psalm 119:49-50,

“Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.”

I’ve seen how God has remembered every promise in His Word to me and my family. Even though David prays for God to remember, he really didn’t have to do that. God remembers. He loves me so much that He desires to fulfill the promises in His Word to me. He desires to be my comfort, my provision, my help, my strength, my strong tower. He wants to heal our infirmities and help us in our time of need. I could write a book just on the little things that have happened in our story that have proven God’s existence and His control. His timing continues to be perfect and He continues to fulfill promises that I haven’t even asked Him to fulfill.

When we were singing this Sunday, I just kept saying, “Thank you, God, that none of this depends on me. Thank you that I don’t have to remember, or remind you. I don’t have to do anything. You do it all. None of it depends on me.” Isn’t that such a relief?? That, in our imperfection, we can just rest and trust God that He is going to do it. He is going to remember His promises. All we have to do it turn to Him. Pastor Lee preached out of Psalm 107. It was such a powerful message. You can go to www.fntchurch.org and listen to all his messages. You will be blessed, if you do. I promise.

Psalm 107: 19-21,

“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy.”

All we have to do is cry out to the Lord. Then He does the rest. He delivers us, heals us, He sends His Word. He does it all. If you are struggling right now, all you have to do is cry out to the Lord with an honest heart. And, He will come. And, when He does, be sure to thank Him and praise Him and tell of His deeds. Everything that happens to us is so the watching world can see that God is good and turn to Him. Let’s all be strong testimonies for the Lord and tell of His goodness. Amen.