Happy November! If you saw my November 11 Facebook post, you already have an idea of how crazy the past month has been at Bean headquarters. If not, stay tuned—I’m putting this month’s “Behind the Screen” first to bring everyone up to speed. Read the update and join me in continuing to pray for my mom. Then enjoy a timely, practical lesson on thanksgiving, gleaned during recent crisis, and a shoutout to a lesser-known but significant November holiday.
Behind the Screen
One week after I posted my October newsletter, my mom underwent emergency surgery for a brain bleed of uncertain cause. Several days later, she had the operation repeated due to more bleeding.
Mom has been home for a few weeks now and is back to fighting cancer. She finished radiation and is scheduled to start chemo in December. The radiation made her throat sore, which means eating is difficult. But she’s moving around the house, doing little tasks. She’s truly a miracle.
In drafting this newsletter and my earlier Facebook post, I’ve tried over and over to summarize the experience of the past month. But none of my efforts quite do it justice, except to say that these have been some of the hardest weeks of my life. At various moments I’ve been dragged along an unmarked road, dashed against the fragments of my world’s foundations, and shrouded in my own little tent of ice while life unfolded outside.
I’ve also breathed, and looked around, and realized that I and my loved ones were somehow, miraculously okay. That, though the ground beneath us had disintegrated and we’d met the jagged edges of rocks, strong and gentle Hands were holding us.
Life is still shifting, still pulling at the reins. But the ice is melting. The Hands are still holding me and my mom and our family. God is loving us—through our friends, our church, His Spirit and provision—and showing us how to walk in this wilderness. He’s showing us that, no matter what, somehow, by His miraculous grace, we’re going to be okay.
I still don’t fully understand why we’re here or how we’ll get through whatever’s next. But I’m ready to live—and write—in this wasteland where God is forming miracles.
Please pray for my mom’s continued recovery from her brain bleeds and for complete healing from cancer. Pray for her throat to recover and her strength to grow. Pray for minimal side effects from her treatments and for protection as her body deals with the stresses of chemo. And pray for her and our family to walk this hard road well.
Thank you for praying and walking this unexpected journey with me. ❤️
Giving Thanks—Together
Before the hospital staff came to wheel Mom back for her first brain surgery, my dad, sister, brother-in-law, and I held hands around her bed to pray for a smooth, successful operation.
God granted our request. A few hours later, I experienced the simple miracle of my mom smiling at me and reaching out from her bed to touch my face.
Afterward, I kept thinking how, though seemingly undramatic, this moment wasn’t something to be taken lightly. The thing for which we’d joined hands and offered audible petitions shouldn’t be acknowledged in silence or as we hurried about arranging for recovery.
Still, I hesitated until Leslie, my brother-in-law, and I returned to our parents’ house that evening. There, we said a collective prayer of thanks.
In the Bible, God’s people unite in thanksgiving as well as petition (Exodus 15:1–21; 1 Chronicles 16:4–36; Esther 8:15–17; Revelation 7:9–10). When we give thanks together, we not only amplify our joy but testify to each other and those around us of God’s goodness and generosity.
So, let’s give thanks together. When God grants a request you made alongside fellow prayer warriors, take time to raise a corporate prayer of thanksgiving. When God gives you an unexpected gift, consider sharing about it with loved ones and thanking Him together. When you simply want to praise Him, consider inviting others to join you.
Let’s celebrate our God together!
Another kind of holiday: Happy RTD Month!
November marks a special time for me and hundreds of others around the globe—it’s Riboflavin Transporter Deficiency (RTD) Awareness Month!
The disorder that shaped my life for twenty years before I even knew what it was … the disorder that continues to affect me even though it doesn’t define me … the disorder that does the same to hundreds of others worldwide … this is the month dedicated to putting it in the spotlight. To making an extra push for research for better treatment and a cure. To going the extra mile to reach those still undiagnosed so that they can gain potentially lifesaving information and the support of a community of fellow RTD warriors.
Join us in raising awareness by following Cure RTD (@cure_rtd) on social media and sharing their awareness posts. To learn more about RTD and how you can help, visit cureRTD.org.
Happy RTD Month!
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