The experts say that keeping active is a huge help during chemotherapy. You can even find official studies on the effect of exercise and such on people going through this. Thank God that so far the chemicals flowing inside me have not dampened my ability to do what I want. Don't look for me too much out on our school track. That is one concession so far to treatment. Summer in Texas is not a good time to be pregnant or having chemo. Our school recently built a practice facility with weight room connected. You can usually find me there from 5 to 7 on weekday evenings. It was closed today for the holiday. In place of walking or lifting my tasks were more manual labor oriented. In other words, it was a day of working in the yard.

I know that my perspective is a little off but it sure felt good to be outside sweating. There were limbs that needed trimming. There was grass that needed weed eating. (Is that a verb?) Then there was the yard in need of mowing. Now realize that the last mowing was three days ago. Our recent monsoon season combined with humidity and sunshine is causing the grass to grow as if it were on steroids. A look at our forecast says it won't be long until the lawn tractor is needed again. Yes, I took in lots of fluids during the day. Yes, I took breaks between jobs. Perhaps I am a bit crazy but I am not insane. It surely did feel good to be dirty and sweaty again. It also felt good to shower it all off.

Doing things like this was normal until not too long ago. It seemed like my health was doing good since nothing ever showed up at general checkups. I guess that idea was way off base. Now there is a thing inside my chest where they hook me up for chemo. Medicine itself is a fascinating topic. Every three weeks my body will be invaded by chemicals designed to aggressively attack my illness. So far those drugs seem to be doing just that. Without the growth that developed behind my ear I might still be doing business as usual now. It does make me wonder sometimes how long have I been "sick?"

That question usually reminds me of how we go about the business of daily life. Can we really know how well we are doing spiritually? The same can be asked for each area of our world. We are most times the last to know when something is amiss. It is so easy to become comfortable with the routine that we lose sight of our reality. That is where we need God's help. He is the One with perfect vision about how we are doing. God knows everything about us and He loves us enough to offer the occasions for renewal. What is even better is that becoming healthier with God does not cost us our hair! We may have to allow Him to fix our heart but that is what we need at such a time. My hope is you will live healthy in every avenue of your life.

Bro. Trey