Good news..... bad news........

Last Tuesday I went & saw the hepatologist (liver doctor). I"d been having severe abdominal pain, no appetite, nausea, as well as some other undesirable symptoms. After two weeks of that, I went to my doctor. He ordered an upper GI xray as well as an ultrasound of my gallbladder an other assorted inside stuff. During the ultrasound they found a "mass" on my liver. That is when the excitement started. They did a cat-scan almost immediately because of the placement of the mass. Things still looked pretty bad, so they ordered an MRI. Finally we found out that the mass was not in the vena cava like they had feared. (This would be VERY bad.... fatal kind of bad.) After more & more doctors, the hepatologist finally said that it was a hemangioma (I have several on my liver, but this one is the one they were worried about) and that it wasn't putting enough pressure on the vena cava for it to be putting me in any danger. My blood work came back good, and I don't have to go back except to have a repeat MRI done in a few months to make sure it isn't growing. YEA!!!!!!

(That was the good news!)

We did end up buying a "new" car for Tim. We bought a Ford Focus ZX5 that will hopefully get about 30 mpg. It's actually a sporty little car with lots of pep. Tim was a wee bit bummed about getting this instead of a big truck, but the more he drives it, the more he likes it. He'll be working in Louisville for about 3 weeks, so I'm glad he has something safe to drive that is also good on gas!

The bad news is that when the work is Louisville is done, he very well may not have any work here. I'm praying I am able to start working soon, so that we can at least make ends meet while he is out of work. It looks like he will either have to go into a new line of work, or we'll be moving out of Cleveland. (sigh) God got my diet to change, he just may be changing my scenery as well!

Today Rick talked about "living for the line instead of living for the dot". Rick's message This really got me thinking about when, in my every day happenings, do I live more for that dot? I immediately thought of two circumstances that got me squirming in my seat. And I think they were both pride driven. Yuk.


James 1:2- Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
This verse has been one I've held very close for many years. I feel that when times are tough, I pretty much do look at the line instead of the dot. Does that sound really self-righteous of me? I hate to tell people that, because I don't want to come off as "I have more & better faith than most of you. I don't doubt that God is in control. I don't doubt God's power, love, or existence." But truly, I get almost excited when something difficult happens or my comfort zone is re-zoned. The first thing I (almost) always think is: "OK, God. What's up? Why are You taking me through this? What is it that You want me to learn, or how do You want me to grow?"
That is really difficult for me to share, because I SO don't want to come off as a snob. I'm just a stupid, stinky sheep and I'm no better than anyone else. I think another reason I'm hesitant to share that is that I don't want to sound so comfortable that God says, "OK, Kim. You think you got it handled? Here's another one for you!" In fact, I'm pretty sure that if God EVER shakes His head and rolls His eyes, He's doing that to me right now. :)