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God Cares for His children.

Found out tonight that a dear friend who I have spent many summers working with at camp was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. Please be in prayer for my Heather Burrill,  her husband Kevin and their three children.

What a reminder tonight about what is truly important in life. I tell you, the most convicting part of this whole situation is the way that they are handling the news. Resting in the plan that God has for them, making the most of the precious time they are being given, and seeking to proclaim Christ above all.

I'm sitting for a license exam tomorrow that I've been working towards for a while and tonight I was just asking God to help me to rest in Him. It's been a bit of a frustration for me and I've just been sick of preparing.  Last night before bed I found out about Heather, and what a reality check and attitude check for me.

Praying for the Burrill Family and my precious sister, Heather. Resting in the fact that God's plans are higher than ours and the fact that He is a loving Father who cares so much for us and can only do good. Why is God choosing to do this? I don't know. But I do know that He loves them... and He is going to take care of them. He takes care of His children, and for that I am so thankful.


-- Taken from Kevin's facebook... PLEASE pray with us!

"UPDATE: (Here is an excerpt from the announcement this morning to our church family at Lighthouse Baptist Church:



"This past Wednesday, we finally got a follow up call from our surgeon to confirm the official pathology results and diagnosis. Heather has Astrocytoma Stage 4. (http://www.cancermonthly.com/cancer_basics/brain.asp) This cancer is graded on a 1-4 scale with 4 being the most aggressive and most rapidly growing stage. Our Surgeon told us that the average life expectancy for this diagnosis is 15-18 months. We don’t have a specific timeframe yet, but we are scheduled to meet an Oncologist this Thursday at the Cross Cancer Institute who should be bale to narrow it down for us.


- This means many things for us as a family:


1) Heather will most likely not be around much longer (barring a miracle from God – which is possible, but does not seem to be the path He is leading us on now based on several little things God has done to prepare us).


2) I will be raising the boys alone for the foreseeable future, and will need to rely heavily on the support of others who know me very well and can help keep me accountable.


(For these and many other reasons, we are seriously praying about moving to live with my parents in New Brunswick very soon. But there are several factors involved in this decision ranging from getting adequate care at the health facilities there (if that weren’t possible we would either stay here or pursue other options), to whether or not Heather is able to travel by plane or car, etc. We haven’t made any final decision yet, and Pastor David and Pastor Charlie have been talking with me periodically as all three of us pray for wisdom and direction. I feel its important to mention this, because if the Lord opens up the doors of opportunity and directs me in this direction, I’d like to move very quickly before Heather’s health deteriorates further and I don’t want that to be too much of a shock to the church family.


3) This also means that time together as a family is critically important to us now – as we are not sure of how much we have left. We have been working on a list of things we would like to do together as a family to preserve memories together, to enjoy one another as much as possible, and to simply have some fun together. (We are considering opening up a fund of some sort to help us be able to cover some of these costs and travel costs ect. – maybe even an AirMiles donation fund, but we are waiting to hear back from the bank on that and we will be letting everyone know as we know more.)


4) The final thing that this means for our family, is that God will be dealing us extra measures of grace - as He has been over the last 4 weeks. I’ve talked to people who look at our situation and their response seems to be horror that this is happening, but our response is one of peace. I can’t explain how. We are sad, we’ve cried many times together as a family, we’ve talked about our worries honestly, but overall we truly do feel at peace with what God has chosen for us. And there can only be one reason that we are able to face a situation like this with this heart attitude, and that is that God has dealt us a huge supply of His grace to comfort our hearts and stabilize our emotions, and settle our fears. It is our prayer that God will begin to do a similar work in our families as they travel down this path with us. And also, that He would work here in our church family – so that each of you will feel that same stabilizing influence that we feel as His grace floods our hearts."


Here is a hymn that God put on my heart while sitting at Heather's bedside in the hospital contemplating the thought of not having her around soon. I trust that the same peace God ministered to me as I expressed my heart to Him through this hymn will minister to all of your hearts. (It will be available through the music ministry I'm starting up in the next few months.)"




In His Cross a Comfort:


(1) There is no wave but that drives me to His coastline.


There is no darkness but that amplifies His light.


In Christ I find everything, My Sovereign Mighty King.


His Saving Grace secures in place the wand'rings of my soul.




(Chorus) In His Cross, A comfort;


In His nails, release;


In His suff'ring and death, life that never ends;


Peace with God, peace within,


This my hope, only found in Him.




(2) There is no fear in a love without condition.


He is not taking mine if all I've earned is Hell.


Through Christ all the riches of the grace of God are giv'n.


Inheritance - in every sense - of His is now made mine.


(Chorus)




(3) There is no cross that for Him I should not carry.


There is no equal to His sacrifice for me.


On Christ all my sin was laid, then paid in victory;


My heart He knows, my life He owns, regardless of the cost.


(Chorus).


Phil. 4:6-7 - "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."