Dearest Friends, Brothers & Sisters in Christ, Eve of Purim
Many of you have requested info about my condition. I have withheld it till now. I wanted to talk to all my family first & not let them be savaged by 2nd hand stuff.
I was hospitalized Feb 16th thru the 19th. They discovered that my platelets are 4 times normal. They put me on Anagrelide to slow my platelet producing marrow cells (megekaryocytes) up a bit. A week later they pulled blood & my platelets were at 5.5 times normal, so they doubled the dosage.
The bone marrow test revealed that I have proliferating megakaryocytes, (too many). By definition, proliferation of any kind of cells is cancer. The term is myliocythemia. However, unlike leukemia or colon cancer or lung cancer, it does not attack & destroy in the same way. The prognosis is for a normal life span if the platelets can be kept from causing stroke or heart attack. Blood clots or bleeding sometimes happen.
There is no known cause or medical cure. It strikes 2 or 3 out of 100,000, probably 2.73 if I had to guess. Mostly female folks over 50 have it, unless you are a really lucky guy. My right leg is still swollen & painful & I can’t extend it fully. I was on a walker till yesterday. By putting my right boot half on, I can walk, somewhat unsteadily, with a walking stick. Today I built fence with Abby & Sky. It seemed essential. We are almost through.
That I was hospitalized while Mary Ruth was in surgery, and on Feb 16th, is propitious. It was the 15th anniversary of a tornado hitting our house & Broiler Houses. That day felt like abandonment, and yet it felt like extreme protection & peace. I was told “you have sowed the wind & reaped the whirlwind” by a truly false prophet. It turned into the greatest day of my life, as it released & financed me to go spend time at the Toronto Airport Vineyard. The 273 3 Revelation came forth from that trip, which is the manifestation of our family destiny. Priceless “reversal”, which is what Purim is about. There is much more, but it needs to remain unsaid for now.
You’ve heard of “Bud Light”? With regard to my children, my health & my livestock I have been teaching & drinking “Job Light”. I believe Job was closer to the perfect will of God than any person then on the earth. He also had an incredible “reversal”.
I am truly the most blessed child of God I know.
In Service of the King,
SMiles Widely,
ALabama ALbright
PS
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| Careless seems the great Avenger; historys pages but record |
| One death-grapple in the darkness twixt old systems and the Word; |
| Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne, |
| Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown, |
| Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own. |
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PPS
“HARD CORE COMMITMENT”
It was taken from a note found on the desk of an African Martyr.
“I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power.
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been
made – I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back
away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future
is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth
knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and
dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or
popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,
regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by
patience, am uplifted by prayer and I labor with power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my
way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is
clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back,
deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate
in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander
in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed
up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus.
I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work
until He stops me. And, when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me…my banner will be clear.
