So much to be thankful for…

The following is a script of a testimony I shared on Wednesday evening at our church's annual Thanksgiving Praise Service:

As we recited together this evening, Psalm 103 says:

Bless the LORD, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from the pit,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies...

(Psalm 103:1-4)

Many of you have been praying for my nephew, Jona Torres, as he has been undergoing chemotherapy for osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, and as he underwent surgery to remove the tumor from his upper arm yesterday.

God did not choose our extended family to go through this experience because we had arrived at some milestone of spiritual excellence. On the contrary, we recognize our own great weaknesses and the all-too-evident struggle with our sinful flesh every day. But we are trusting God’s promises – that this experience is part of the “all things” HE is causing to work together for good… That we are called according to His purpose: to be conformed to the image of His Son, to be conformed to the image of the only perfect Human Being who ever lived – so that HE, the Son of God, might be the firstborn among many brethren – so that HE might be the Preeminent One among many that have been made like Himself, to the eternal praise of His glorious grace!

As an extended family we have much to be thankful for:

• We are thankful that Jona’s faith is in Christ as His personal Savior from sin.
• We’re thankful for Jona’s sweet testimony, trusting the Lord in this trial, thanking God for everything – including this trial.
• We’re thankful for the Lord’s constant provision for Jona and his family in too many ways to name – especially in a two-minute testimony!
• We’re thankful that the Lord is the Great Physician, the Only One who can ultimately heal Jona.
• As we look to the Lord, asking Him for the miracle of healing, we’re thankful for the fact that less than one month before Jona’s initial diagnosis, the Lord had relocated Dr. Porter from Mississippi to Greenville to begin working at Greenville Memorial Hospital; Dr. Porter is the only orthopedic oncologist nearer than Charleston.
• We’re thankful for the highly qualified medical team in residence at Greenville Memorial Hospital, making it possible for Jona and his family to avoid having to travel to Charleston or out-of-state in order for Jona to receive the necessary medical treatment.
• We’re thankful that yesterday’s shoulder replacement surgery, though lengthier than initially expected, went smoothly.
• We’re thankful for God’s provision of tickets through frequent flier miles so that Jona’s missionary grandparents from Uruguay could be here with us during yesterday’s surgery.
• We’re thankful for the many opportunities that Esteban, Jona’s father, has had to share the message of salvation in Christ alone with other families on the pediatric oncology floor at the hospital, with the medical staff, and with many others here in the area.*
• We’re thankful for the thousands of believers, literally all over the world, who are praying for Jona and for his family.
• We’re thankful for God’s work in our own hearts, teaching us our daily need of His grace.
• We are thankful that the LORD is constantly and graciously refocusing our eyes on HIM, and we are praying that HE, as the Great Physician, would completely heal Jona.
• We’re praying that Christ's name would be made big in the earth – in Jona's life, in the lives of our extended family, in the medical community here, in the eyes of others on the oncology floor at the hospital, in our churches, in the lives of Jona's classmates, and in the lives of our Christian brothers and sisters all over the world who are interceding for Jona.

*Edited to add:

Please pray for Esteban. He was unable to be at the hospital during the surgery yesterday because he was very sick, coughing and running a high fever. This afternoon he was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus! Please pray for a quick and complete recovery with no complications – and pray that Jona would not get sick when he comes home.

Thank-you for praying!