June 2012

Again I sit with my first cup of coffee this AM. I am home after two weeks on the island. No internet but lots of peace and beauty. I am asking Jesus to be with me, to lend His presence to my special time of day. To believe in His actual being with me encourages me in my Bible reading and prayers. I thank Him for all things, especially the wonderful promises I find in Scripture. I thank Him, too, for all His goodness to me and He HAS been good.

I have finished five months of chemo, starting last January. It was five months of feeling pretty good, then feeling as if I couldn’t move, and then feeling fair for a few days, and then back to the beginning again. Now it is over! I have had a PET scan, and have been told the cancer is in complete remission. All praise to Jesus Who sat with me through all of this. I am so grateful. Actually, I can thank Him in all things, even the bad, because I learn so much and get so much experience to know how others feel. Literally, through my effort to get close to my Lord, He has come closer to me. I read His Word and the wisdom of it means more each time. I am understanding more. It is true—we have to ask—but He is always willing to answer.

I am grateful for getting a little stronger each day. I took a two week vacation at the end of May to go sit by the water on my beloved island. I thought I could sit there as well as here in Medina. It was wonderful. Jesus is there too, maybe even more so. Getting my strength back is a real challenge. It is hard to see how quickly my old body has gone downhill without activity. But YEAH! I am growing hair again!!

My one dream was to be able to ride my bike again. I can walk only a short way without being breathless, but I was determined to ride my bike. The last day there on the island, JD brought out my bike. There was a complete role reversal. Forty-four years ago I ran alongside a little JD while he teetered along on a bike without training wheels and on this day he ran alongside me as I wobbled down the sidewalk.

BUT I DID IT! I rode my bike!

Thank you all again for putting up with my ramblings. I have been so encouraged by the many positive responses. My efforts to be closer to Jesus have been positive too. He becomes more real to me each day, my thoughts turn to Him more often, and I believe I am trusting in Him, not myself so much. I will continue to ask Him to be present during the best part of my day and also for the rest of the time too.

God bless all of you and know that I love and pray for you. Hopefully, I can get back to you from time to time and that you, too, will all take time to have Coffee with Jesus.

Love always from Irma Jane Fritz-Zager