Friday, November 3rd -

Today was an exhausting day for both Margaret and Tom. Margaret had an oncologists appointment this morning in downtown Sacramento. The exhaustion built as time wore on - traveling into downtown, waiting at the doctor's office, visiting the pharmacy afterwards, getting something to eat, and then getting back home - it was a long day.

Word from the oncologist was not good, and yet, totally expected. Her CA 125 level is quite elevated, which is not good, but completely expected as she has been off chemo for over a month. The doctor told her that she is not physically capable of resuming chemo treatments currently. He suggested that she wait unitl she arrived and settled in Tennessee. He would be in communication with her new doctor back south in the meantime to exchange information. He also gave her a timeline which was quite upsetting for Margaret, and yet, according to her daughter, Marty, at least he didn't say something horrible like "6 months!"

Friends, Margaret is our friend, our pastor, our confidant, our mother. She is under an extreme amount of stress currently. When our health fails us, and we can't do anything about it, we are tempted to lose faith or give up hope. Margaret cannot do that, though. Faith and hope are what have kept her head above water up until this point. We must join her in her effort to maintain the faith that God is good. We must believe just as strongly as she does that God will deliver her and Tom. When the going gets tough, the world says that the tough get going. We must ignore that popular anctedote and replace it with when the going gets tough, the tough hit their knees.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and Margaret is excited about watching SEC football on tv. Her spirits remain elevated despite the odds that are seemingly stacked against her. If you have not contacted her recently, please take the opportunity to call or visit her. Tomorrow would be a good day - especially during the Mississippi State vs. Alabama game. You'd make a marvelous distraction from the impending doom of the Bulldogs! More tomorrow, folks. Keep praying!