Medical and Garden Updates

      First, here’s a medical update on my blood tests. They are both going up again, but I am not concerned because I have bound the cancer cells and loosed good health. The CEA is 35.9 and the alkaline phosphatase is 169. I just put it in God’s hands and he is binding the cancer cells in heaven and loosing good health for me. After all, no weapon formed against me will prosper. I have been committed to exercising three times a week, even during the week after chemotherapy. I went slower and not as far, but I did it! And now, after just two weeks of keeping to my schedule, I can tell I’ve had an improvement in my endurance. Today I walked on the treadmill for thirty minutes. I went 1.44 miles at three piles per hour. I measured my arterial oxygen level the whole time. It never went below 93 and stayed up around 96-97 most of the time. I never felt winded and did not have to use my pursed-lip breathing technique! I see my doctor tomorrow, Wednesday, July 3. He may want to change my medication because of the blood tests. I will leave it in God’s hands.

      Now here’s an update on my garden. After three years of learning how to garden, I have finally concluded that I cannot grow plants in containers.  I originally purchased containers for their decorative features, likecolor and Celtic designs. I have tried different plants in them each year and none of them thrive. The problem is that I have too much sun for small containers. I would have to water them two or three times a day to provide all their nutritive needs. But the ones that are planted in the ground, the ones whose nutritive needs are provided by God, do very well!Now the annual plants that I have in the large containers do well, but I have resigned myself to putting small sculptures in the small containers. This year I put fairies in some and animals in others.  I think God is teaching me a lesson. He can grow plants with his soil and rainwater better than I can with the city water. The city always puts chemicals in the water in the name of public health. It’s a simple lesson that I have heard expressed in many ways before; my favorite rendition is “Let go and let God.” 

So I will be anxious for nothing and remember the promise I quoted in my blog of June 12, from Luke 12:27. I will let go and let God take care of my needs, just like He cares for the lilies of the fields and the birds of the air. The pictures demonstrate this. See how small the penta plants are in my containers.  The tallest one is only twelve inches high. Now look at the white penta in the ground. It is 32 inches tall! (That is a four-foot yardstick.)  I put pentas in the tubs last year but the cold killed them. God’s penta in the ground is resurrected every year! Who is the better gardener?