He leads me

The 23rd Psalm is the best known of all the Prayers and Songs in the Bible:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

I have been saying it every night since entering Bart's hospital, on November 23rd. And I have been blessed - fearing no evil, and receiving all manner of good gifts and encouragements, as God's goodness and mercy have followed me on this journey.

Jesus also promises to lead and guide us (and provide for our deepest needs, I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD, John 10.1-18). Sheep like to wander away on their own, do their own thing, and get themselves into scrapes. Jesus leads us into stillness, restoration and healing, and then he sets us on our way, along the path that best honours him and is best for us.

I am very grateful for all your encouragement, and prayers, and for all the healing and peace I have received so far. After 9 months of retirement, and going through this healing journey, Mary and I are looking to the future. Yes, my healing is far from complete - the whole process of a stem cell transplant and its follow up treatment takes 12 months - but I am doing well.

So, for the next 6 weeks, up to Easter Day, Mary and I will be praying and fasting (a little) to seek God's will concerning our future ministry and where we settle. It may well be that he has already led us to that place; or it may not. We are seeking the Lord, the good shepherd, with open hearts and minds.

We would really value your support in this.

Paul said, 'for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If it is to be life in the flesh that means fruitful labour for me' (Philippians 1.21-22). I am not thinking of going back to work fulltime, or being paid, but we both seek to be fruitful in this stage of our lives.

On the MEDICAL FRONT the good news continues:

Thanks to Kirstie for this graphic. These figures were taken from 2 weeks ago, but the good news is that last week my haemoglobin was STABLE. It was 84 for 2 weeks in a row, without intervention. Previously it was declining each week, so that is progress! My target is to get to 120 eventually.

Otherwise, the blood numbers are great.

I am now experiencing some MILD Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD). The symptoms are red rashes on the skin, and a sore mouth and tongue; but it is mild and easy to manage, and my appetite is good. Being a wiser person these days I resisted the temptation to take a selfie with my tongue sticking out! But if you are interested or bored, you can google tongue with GVHD, or tongue with fungal infection, and you will get the idea!

The Doc has put me on steroids and given me anti-fungal pills - more meds! But in the big scheme of things, he says, 'a little GvHD at this stage is a good thing'. It shows that Caroline's cells are strong and gaining the upper hand; as long as they don't attack my liver or kidney's I should be fine.

I am now on Day +71 post-transplant, and am feeling well. My Consultants remain very pleased, and they are taking great care of me. Just like the Good Shepherd.