Update on Mary: Letting Go

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better...

Philippians 1:21-23a

My mom has decided that she is done struggling to live on in the flesh. The incessant pain, the struggle to gain weight, the inability to sleep, the many unpleasant side effects of the chemo therapy, and (because it deserves to be said twice) the unrelenting pain, have become too much. She's tired, and she is ready for peace.

Please pray for peace.

Pray for peace for my mom. She is in a great deal of pain all the time.

Pray for peace for us, as we all come to terms with this decision.

Processing a change in expectations is hard. Knowing that we are going to lose our mom very soon is hard. Trying to navigate our lives and our "normals" as they are shifting under our feet is hard. We are all managing, but it is hard. You have all prayed for my mom so faithfully for the last two years, and we are so grateful. Please stick with us. We need your prayer now more than ever.

We are all scared, we are all drained, we are all so sad. We are all coming home, and will be focusing on spending time with my mom. Please pray we would have special times and good memories. Pray that my mom will get the rest she needs in the midst of chaos, and that her pain would decrease. Pray that we would all find peace.

My mom wants me to express how grateful she is for the friendship, love, and support you have shown our family over the last two years. She is so thankful for your prayers, your notes and letters, and all the many other ways you have expressed your love for her and us. We know that we have been richly blessed to call you friends, and that these last few years would not have been as wonderful as they were without you.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3: 7-11