---WHAT PRAYER CAN DO ~~
---[Power In Our Day-To-Day Lives]

--"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." --[PSALM 23:4]

---Wrapped In Love~~

--Joshua 1:9 commands us to be strong and courageous. That verse, along with the support and prayers of my friends and family, had gotten me through two weeks of radiation treatments for MALT lymphoma near my thyroid.

Then my oncologist ordered a PET scan for my six-month follow-up, and my courage seemed to leave me completely. "We need to make sure the tumor is still shrinking," the doctor had said.

I texted everyone I knew for their prayers. One reply stood out from the rest. My sister sent me a photo of an infant swaddled in a cozy blanket. "This is how I picture you, Paula," she wrote. "Wrapped so tightly in God's love that nothing can touch you without going through Him."

I loved that image and looked at it often in the days leading up to the scan. Still, I knew I needed to steel myself for battle like Joshua, a warrior. Strong and courageous.

"Do not be afraid," I repeated to myself as I walked into radiology to do the follow-up scan. "For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

I would feel braver if you could give me some sign that you're with me, God, I thought, climbing onto the table for the scan.

The technician reminded me that I would need to lie down with my arms over my head during the procedure.

"I don't think I can hold that position," I said. "I had a rotator-cuff injury."

"No problem," the tech assured me. "You can keep your arms at your sides as long as you don't move."

I must have looked doubtful because he smiled and said, "Don't worry. I have a way to keep you stable."

The tech threw a blanket over me and tucked it underneath my body. Then he wrapped wide elastic bandages snugly around the blanket, securing me all the way down my chest, stomach and hips.

"Just like a swaddled baby," I said.
That's when I realized: I had my sign. God would be with me, no matter what the scan showed. I had never felt more courageous or more loved. I was sure to thank the Lord Jesus, and my sister. ~~ inlove Jesus is always as close as the mention of His name.~

--Guideposts/PB~

~~~~~~~
--"Your Presence Is A Promise"// (lyric video/Mack Brock) // <https://youtu.be/qipJcM5k_mI>
~~~~~

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." [John 14:6]