New Beginnings
After Christmas passed, and family visitors took their leave, my husband and I came down very sick. I ran myself down in the ground preparing for Christmas and family visiting. I did not get any rest. When family arrived and thru their stay with us, I gutted it out and gave all I could. It was a wonderful visit that I will cherish forever. I willingly paid the price to risk being sick for an opportunity to hold our newest grandson, and visit with my daughter and son in law. My energy levels before Christmas was a “5” on a scale of 100 on my smartwatch and they never did rise throughout Christmas week.
Earlier in December I had a chemotherapy treatment that resulted in low neutrophils. To counteract this, I was placed on 3 growth factor shots a week to force my bone marrow to grow more white blood cells. My lymphocytes, (Fighter T Cells), were also very low. The first week I was to start up the 3 shots. There was a hang up over insurance, so instead of 3 shots, I received 2 shots. The following week, I cancelled a shot because my family was arriving that day and I felt I had to stay home and prepare, putting finishing touches on the house. I was once again shorted a growth factor shot.
As a result of not slowing down, and me not having enough neutrophils to fight infection, the flu bug rampant, both my husband and I came down very sick with upper respiratory infections. To add to this and sheer exhaustion, my hands became inflamed with hand-foot syndrome, one of the side effects of chemotherapy. My hands turned purple-red, became swollen and tight, blisters threatening to break out. My hands felt as if they were on fire all the time.
The weekend after Christmas, I went to bed at 6 pm and slept for 20 hours. My energy levels were still reflecting a “5” out of a hundred on my smartwatch and my body inside undergoing severe stress. My husband and I missed 2 weeks of Church as we were forced to remain housebound. I finished my one year read the Bible through plan and seemed to lose direction of what I should do next in studying the Bible. My prayers became brief and I did not read the Bible for several days. I was missing the two most vital components of a Christian: To read the Bible and Pray. I barely noticed the New Year coming in and on our 41st anniversary we had to delay our celebratory dinner date.
A curious thing started to happen through our sickness. Our Lab-Malinois Shepherd started exhibiting strange behavior. She was scared to go into our bedroom. Her bedding is in our bedroom and she is six years old and never had a problem before. We cajoled her, and begged her and tried to take her by the collar but she wasn’t going. Her eyes seemed to be fixed on an unknown object and I started guessing of what could have started her paranoia. I finally had to get a leash and gently through positive motivation to half drag her to her bedding in our bedroom. She’s always had a heightened sensitivity level.
After the New Year was ushered in, we were still sick, my dog still refusing to go into our bedroom. I remembered a few nights ago when I paused to watch on Christian Network TV, a woman blessing the rooms of her home, physically touching the doorframes and touching her countertops and her TV, asking for the Lord’s blessing and protection.
A small urging came unbidden in my heart. Why don’t you ask for God’s blessing and protection in your own home? I did so. I placed my hands on my bedroom doorframe and asked for God’s provision, protection and blessing. I got a plan together on how I will study God’s Word in 2026 and I started praying again, lengthening my prayers to pray for others.
A miracle happened! I finally turned a corner in my sickness getting stronger and gaining energy, (56 out of a hundred on my smartwatch), and the pain in my hands have subsided considerably. My husband turned a corner in his sickness too! Zoey, our Lab-Malinois, without any prodding was once again, after a couple of weeks of her bizarre behavior, was entering and exiting our bedroom as if nothing had happened!
A coincidence? I think not! There are no coincidences with God. Could Zoey have seen an evil spirit? Certainly, in my sickness, I was not reading the Bible or praying as I should have, leaving us vulnerable to a spiritual attack. Our defenses were down in our sickness allowing a demon to gain entry into our home.
The heaviness I’ve been feeling has been lifted and I feel lighter and more connected with God! Folks, this is only the 6th day into the new year and we’ve been tested severely, coming through the fire. This is because of God’s protection. Bring on 2026! With God, all things are possible! I pray for God’s blessings, protection and provision over your lives for 2026. Amen and Amen 🙏
”Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Psalm 91:14-16 NIV