THINGS AIN'T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM

                   THINGS AIN’T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM
                                                                                       
     The final stages of my husband’s chemo cycles went relatively smoothly. Looking for the end of the treatments gave us joy, knowing there would be no more chemo cocktails for him, no more nausea, no more aches and pains in his bones and joints, no more bowel problems, no more weakness. Yes, it looked better every day.
     We were overjoyed with the results of the chemo which resulted in the thrill of knowing that he is cancer free. The right combination of chemicals in the right dosage was given. God did His wonderful part in presenting miracles during the long adventure, so it has been exciting.
     The last phase of any adventure is sometimes the hardest to go through, and we’ve found that what is visible to the natural eye is not always what is happening.
     The second week of each chemo cycle was always the worse part of each three week treatment. Chemicals were working, performing both positive and negative results in the body. Steve had been a champion throughout the 18 week process, just like he was during the two surgeries, the small one and the extensive one. He had stayed positive most of the time throughout the nine month ordeal.
     The last cycle, the sixth one, was going along reasonably well with only mild discomfort. Of course, having been through five cycles already has helped both of us know what to expect.
     The second week of the last cycle had added some different symptoms, results from the effects of the chemicals in his body. He had been dizzy upon suddenly getting out of chairs. The dizziness went away in a few minutes, but it was alarming to him and to me as his caregiver.
     It occurred to me that maybe his blood pressure was so low that it was causing him to be dizzy, so late one night he decided that he would take his blood pressure to see if that could possibly be causing the problem. He hooked up the digital blood pressure machine we’ve had for years and it quickly registered his blood pressure at 97 over 57 with a pulse rate of 97. We were both alarmed since his normal blood pressure is 135 over 72 with a pulse rate of 60. Of course, we surmised, the dizziness must be caused by low blood pressure.
     Neither of us panicked but we discussed the fact that if it registered the same low numbers the next morning that we would go to the doctor's office or maybe to the hospital.
     We both had restless nights, needless to say; but in the early morning hours the thought came to me that the digital blood pressure machine might need to have the batteries changed since they had never been replaced. I didn’t get an opportunity to tell Steve about that persistent thought, but when he took his blood pressure after breakfast the machine noted that it needed new batteries.
     Sure enough, after the batteries were changed the machine registered his blood pressure as being back to normal, 130 over 70 with a pulse rate of 60. We were elated with the new numbers since they assured us that a trip to the doctor’s office or the hospital would not be required.
     I began to relate the situation to some of life’s lessons, that things are not always as they seem. Sometimes negative outward circumstances are only indications of things going on in the spiritual dimension in answer to our prayers. Sometimes the alarming things are not really negatives but they are human reactions to God’s orchestrations in the situations. Sometimes when we interpret situations as negative, like Steve’s low blood pressure numbers, maybe we need our faith batteries charged, or maybe we need new batteries inserted into our minds in the form of a gift of faith.
     Maybe we need to charge our faith batteries by quoting God’s promises relating to the situation. Maybe we need to build up ourselves on our most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit like is instructed in verse 20 of the book of Jude in the Bible.
     When faith is high and we are tuned in to God’s promises, we are solid in expecting good things to eventually happen because our spiritual houses are built on the Rock, not on sand.
     It turned out that the dizziness was the result of one of the chemo medications in combination with the shot to boost his immune system. It was just a new indication that they were doing their jobs. That symptom lessened quickly as the cycle progressed.
     I don’t use the word “ain’t” in conversation. I just used it in the title of this story to get your attention. Maybe the next time things look bad and you begin to panic, maybe the words, “Things ain’t always what they seem,” will come to your mind and you will recall this story and realize that you need to switch the batteries of your mind from fear to faith, or from panic to calmness, by realizing that God is busy working his orchestrations in order to answer your prayers.
     Maybe you need to find a scripture that is one of God’s promises that relates to the situation and keep that promise foremost in your mind so that when outward circumstances are alarming, then you can declare that promise to your doubting mind.
     Maybe all you need is a battery change from unbelief to belief.