Patience

James 5:7-8

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.”

Waiting is so hard. We want answers now. How many times have you prayed, “Lord, give me patience, and give it to me now”? Often, we learn patience by being forced to have patience.

We are in waiting mode right now. We are waiting to see if Tammy’s brothers are matches for a possible donation. We are waiting to see if Tammy’s insurance will reconsider and allow KU Medical Center in Kansas City to be in-network so we can use it for the transplant. We are waiting to see what our out-of-pocket expenses will be if KU remains out-of-network. It will probably be at least a week before we find out any of these answers.

Mostly, we are waiting on the Lord. We know He is in control. We know He has everything in His plan. His love and grace have been so evident to us in the first week and a half since we found out about the need for a transplant. We are trying to be patient as we wait for the next step.

Thank you for your words of encouragement and prayers so far. We ask that you keep them going.

Many of you have sent us emails or posted comments on this blog, thanking us for the blog. It is a great pleasure to post to it. It is therapeutic, and we are greatly encouraged by the responses to it. (For some reason, not everybody has been able to post comments. We wish we knew what to tell you. Just keep trying, or you can send us emails at DavidDSmale@gmail.com.) We hope you continue to read the blog, and if you are blessed by it, give all the credit to the Lord.