When Burdens are Heavy

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

The past two days have been hard in many ways. For Jasmine, she has felt incredibly sick. Last night her fever got up to 40.3C (104.5F) so they gave her Tylenol and took more blood cultures. They have been giving her Maxeran through IV for nausea. She didn’t eat anything for two days and was only drinking small amounts.

This morning Jas was pale and her hemoglobin was low so they gave her an infusion of platelets and RBC’s. She has been continually nauseous so they’ve been giving her anti-nausea meds around the clock.

By this evening, Jasmine’s colour was better, she was eating a little bit and her fever was coming down. The oncologist also said that infection is very common and most AML kids get a serious infection every round so Jas has been a super star so far!

It has been identified that the infection is not in her blood, but in both lumens of her central line. Jasmine is getting two antibiotics for the infection and the medical staff are monitoring her well and taking care of her.

It is heartbreaking watching Jas go through this, and as a parent myself, I ache at the thought of what Christine and Brad are going through. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions that never seems to stop. It’s emotionally exhausting. When a friend asked if there was ANYTHING we could do to help ease this burden, I had to respond that there is nothing we can physically do to help.  

When someone we love is in pain, overwhelmed, heartbroken, beaten down, heavy or exhausted, we long to help. We long to help ease the burden they are carrying, to lift the weight off their shoulders, to make it all okay. Sitting and watching helplessly is almost torture. And yet there are instances, like this one, where we have no way to physically help, but it doesn’t mean we are out of options: We can come to the throne of grace on our knees and pray to our God who is always present, unconditionally loving, and faithful to never abandon us.

This is a fight. It’s a fight for Jasmine to be healthy, to overcome this infection and to beat cancer. It’s a fight for Christine and Brad to show up morning after morning, present and hopeful even though they are exhausted in many ways. It’s a fight for this family to stay unified despite the toll on all of them. It’s a fight to choose faith over fear continuously.

As the army who loves and supports the Adams’, we have the opportunity to continue fighting alongside them. So let’s gear up because the battle is still raging.

If our only option to help is to pray, then let us pray with everything we’ve got because this battle is taking its toll on everyone, in many ways.

1. Pray that the whole family would be able to process pain with an awareness of God’s presence.
2. Pray for strength and grace in Christine and Brad’s marriage – that God would protect their unity and grow their relationship through this.
3. Pray that Eli would recognize God’s faithfulness and provision, and that seeds of trust would be deeply planted.
4. Pray for rest in God’s presence and a renewed spirit day after day.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; the will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31