Pressed on every side

We've been learning about science in our house. Not just the kind of science you might be thinking of: platinum based chemotherapy, white blood cells, PET scans, vasovagal episodes, and all that. We've been learning about egg science, rather "how to keep an egg from cracking under pressure" science. Last week, the boys' school hosted an Egg Drop event for all of the 2nd grade classes.
Each student was asked to create a special vehicle/cushion which when dropped from the roof of the school (by the principal) would protect a raw egg and keep it from splattering all over the tetherball courts. The boys came up with all sorts of ideas in their brainstorming: hair gel, confetti, sewing the egg inside a football, paper towel rolls, rubber bands...which would work best to keep that egg safe?
They came up with some pretty great ideas and were very proud of the end result. Cade named his "Cade's Cactus Cooler Cushion" and Collin's was "Collin's Clorox Collision Craft", in honor of the outer plastic containers they each chose.


It didn't matter what kind of creative vehicle was chosen, every single egg that day got thrown off the roof. There was no avoiding that. Life is like that, and there's no escaping hardship somewhere down the road: cancer, a rebellious teenager, a marriage that's been given up on, a layoff notice, the loss of someone much loved. Why me? Why NOT me? It's bound to happen sometime. The difference that day, for those eggs, was not in somehow preventing being thrown over the edge, but how they were cushioned. Helping Dad through cancer is teaching us all about cushioning our own hearts too.

II Corinthians 4:7-9 says: "But this precious treasure-this light and power that now shine within us-is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going." These past six months, I've certainly had times when I felt pressed on every side by cancer...hunted down, even. It's a tough one to shake, and there is truly nothing about me that is capable of withstanding such a blow. In my own power, I'm about as good a cushion as a thin layer of Kleenex. Any resiliency I have is because no matter what, my very fragile heart is being protected in the most amazing way by God's constant presence. He is more than enough cushion, and he is proving that day after day to Reese and me.

Reese is continuing to have a pretty good week, all things considered. He even felt well enough to go into the office for a few hours today (partly because he needed to pick up a new laptop power cord since the dog chewed through it, and partly because he just can't stay away from those guys!). They were about ready to bar the door, or at least make him wear a germ-free breathing mask, but they know as well as I do how stubborn he can be once he's decided to do something. He appreciated everyone's good wishes for continued recovery and made a fairly speedy exit after taking care of a few things. We also enjoyed a great head-to-head flag football game tonight between Cade's Cal Bears and Collin's Indiana Hoosiers. It was one for the history books, for sure! When I go downstairs, I'm sure that I'll find he's fallen asleep on the couch after such a long day. We're looking forward to a restful weekend.