Roller Coaster

I'm exhausted, emotionally and physically. While in Japan, I got an email from my wife saying my mom was in the hospital, going down. Doctors saying, "She could pull through, we've been wrong before." Those were the last words I read before boarding my first commuter flight to Narita to endure an 8 hour layover before a 10 hour flight home. At least I had something to think about for the next 18 hours. I called my wife from Narita and she said Mom was doing better. Then by the end of the week, the report was Mom was going down hill fast again. Then after "speeding" as fast as I could through rush hour traffic to get to her side, I was told she's doing better. Then she had surgery, which took care of the immediate problem, but she has "mutifaceted medical issues," as the surgeon says. Mom's been battling abdominal cancer for a year and a half now, and is a survivor of breast cancer from 1996. For today, she's doing well, as well as can be. I cried last night, thinking of how much she loves my kids, and thinking about them not having their Nanny. I cried pretty hard. It's been described as a roller coaster ride. When I was younger, roller coasters were nothing but fun. Now that I'm older, they make me kind of queasy. I didn't like Magic Mountain. It made me sick, the more coasters I rode. No wonder kids and teenagers don't describe life as a roller coaster, but adults. Too many ups and downs can make older stomaches unsettled. They can hurt your neck and back. Pretty soon we avoid them all together, but some we have to ride. No choice. I find comfort in knowing I get on the dang thing with Jesus, ride it with Him, and He gets off with me. And any time I'm "talked" into riding another, He's my partner, strapped in right beside me. Please pray for my mom. Arms up! We're going down...