192 - Before a Biopsy

“Dear Debbie:

I truly hope you read this email today. A very good friend of mine is having a biopsy of her femur bone. She had Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma 11 years ago and now either has a recurrence or new cancer. Either way, it’s not great and I just remembered that you wrote a Psalm for someone having a biopsy.

Take care & write back ASAP!”

My St. Louis friend, Sharon, wrote me on Monday. I had recently written her that I was working on some “short meditations for specific situations,” and a biopsy was one I had tackled. I can still remember the terror that surrounded my biopsies. The ache of the unknown and all the associated frights. The limbo until results were revealed. One time, I remember having to endure a weekend of waiting after a Thursday biopsy. Trying to keep myself distracted with activities and minutia until the Monday telephone call. Perhaps if there had been something to say, I would have had a focused faith to hold onto. This is my offering for just such moments.

One Hundred Ninety-Two

Before a Biopsy

Uncover the hidden.
Let skilled hands
Bring mystery forth
And call its name.

I am breathless not knowing.
Give me an answer, bad or good.
Show me the path I must follow,
Altered or same.

Keep me in Your sight,
Calm the anxious beating of my heart;
Ease the pain of this wound,
Ease my future.