Shaky Hands

Posted on July 9, 2026 by Lynn

No one told me that my going through chemo for endometrial cancer in 2019 would result in dealing with so many side effects years later. A recent trip to my doctor, although encouraging in some aspects, since my blood work was for the most part good, determined that I have also tested positive for Lupus. According to my family doctor, it is just something to be monitored for now, since adding to my already significant cocktail of medications, would only add more disconcerting medicinal side effects. I have researched systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) which is a chronic autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues. It is characterized by “flare ups” that in my case causes extreme fatigue, joint pain and swelling. Not fun.

I can’t blame SLE on chemo per se, although specialists are still researching a link between having chemo and then being diagnosed with various autoimmune diseases after the fact. I live with the side effects to the best of my ability, but there are frustrations and at times I am more than a little discouraged. The thing is, my main reason for going to the doctor in the first place, was for something called “chemo-induced essential hand tremors“. Shaky hands has really hampered my ability to write, type, text, craft and a host of other activities I once took for granted. My husband acts as my “hands”, taking pans out of the oven, chopping vegetables etc. in the kitchen, and much more. He also assists me at church when we take the Lord’s Supper elements, by picking up and carrying the little communal cup for me. Since my right hand is more affected than my left, I have been learning to use my left hand more, still it’s not my dominant hand, and it is frustrating to not be able to do some things without tremors causing me some grief. I will admit it embarrasses me more than anything. I don’t like to look vulnerable in front of family and friends. Yes, it’s pride.

I empathize with Apostle Paul when he asked his “thorn” to be removed from him in 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10. Certainly, I have prayed that these afflictions I seem to be facing be removed, but it is Paul’s response in this passage when God determined that he live with his “thorn in the flesh” that challenges me in verse 9. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God reminds me daily that in all things, even in my minor afflictions, that His Grace is sufficient. I don’t know if I can yet boast gladly about my weaknesses, or delight in them. I’m leaning on Him to help me get through it. In the meantime, I ask for patience as I work all things out with fear and trembling and yes, even shaky hands.

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A Brief Getaway

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Lynn

Kye Bay welcomed us with a spectacular sunset, and a low tide that allowed miles and miles of sand to show and be explored. The greenery and rhododendrons in full bloom lifted my spirits especially since we had left behind cold and snow only days before in Alberta. I could feel my skin become drenched in the coastal climate, soaking up every bit of moisture, even though we only experienced one rainy day the entire time we were on the Island. The dry, parched Alberta cold, was a drowned out memory as I luxuriated in the damp air around me. The sound of gulls, the gaiety of bird song, the shrill peels of eagles overhead, was a sweet, sweet chorus when combined with the lapping of waves in the daily tide shifts.

Perfect.

I had spent weeks before our trip, fighting a lung infection that developed into pneumonia. I feared we would have to cancel our trip to the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. My husband, his sister from Ottawa, and his brother from England were planning a reunion there in the town they grew up. It would be the first time the three siblings would all be together since 2012. I didn’t want to be the cause of him missing out on seeing them, after all, we never know if these meet ups will happen again. Thankfully, I recovered so we could enjoy a wonderful family gathering, and much memory-making in the process.

My husband and I decided to stay in a couple Bed and Breakfasts at Kye Bay. Our hosts were delightful, with gourmet breakfasts served on an outside deck overlooking glorious gardens. Meeting and chatting with fellow retirees escaping for a few days as well, was pleasant. Being only steps away from the beach was an added bonus. (Thanks Mena, Ken and Lynn for the hospitality!)

My husband, Charles has a warm, relaxed relationship with his brother and sister, something we do not take for granted. They joke about, laugh, reminisce and share countless stories of growing up together. I am included in their banter, I’m literally the “little sister” amongst them, as is evident when we take a picture and they tower over me in height!

We are home now. Hard to believe we were gone for two weeks. We have had a weekend to recover from the long drive back to our home in Alberta. I lament the fact that the leaves are just beginning to sprout on my lilac bushes. My garden is at least two months or more behind Comox in plant growth. It’s sad. I’m missing the floral colours, and the moisture in the air. Every time we visit the Island, we contemplate retiring there, but then the Alberta Rockies lure us home, and we feel a prairie homecoming that fills us with peace.

We will bloom where we are planted.

Still, … the Island is a nice place to visit.

Kye Bay
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Artemis 2

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Lynn
A crescent Earth setting along the Moon’s limb on Monday.NASA via AFP – Getty Images

I, like millions of habitants on Earth, have been following the journey of the Artemis 2 crew, who yesterday flew past the moon. They not only broke the record of humans traveling the farthest away from Earth (252,760 miles (406,778 kilometers), but they also saw the far side of the moon, an accomplishment never before attained. I watched in absolute fascination the live stream from NASA as the four astronauts described in great detail what they saw with their own eyes.

I have come to admire those four individuals, while hearing their stories and the paths they walked in getting to this particular mission of space travel. Reid Wiseman (Commander) is a retired Navy captain from Baltimore, Maryland. He previously spent 165 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and completed two spacewalks. He lost his wife, Carroll to cancer in 2020 and raised his two daughters as a single dad. Christina Koch (Mission Specialist) is the first woman to be involved on a moon mission. She has a remarkable record of logging 168 days aboard the ISS and participating in the first all-female space walks. Victor Glover (Pilot) is the first Black astronaut to journey to the moon. He also logged 168 days on the ISS and completed four spacewalks. It is worthy of note that he brought his Bible with him on this mission and has been quoting scripture frequently. Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialist, Canadian Space Agency) is the first non-U.S. astronaut to fly around the Moon. A former CF-18 fighter pilot, Hansen was selected as a CSA astronaut in 2009, waiting seventeen years to go on this his first spaceflight. (Crew Members and Roles)

Yesterday marked the mission milestone of the moon fly by, and there were many times I marveled at the images of the moon and the different descriptions each astronaut offered to clarify what they were seeing first hand. I teared up when Victor Glover sent a greeting to his wife, who was at Mission Control watching from the visitor gallery there, “Hey Babe, I love you from the moon.”

Perhaps the most poignant moment was when Jeremy Hansen described two newly discovered, unnamed craters and asked NASA if they could be named “Integrity”, after their spacecraft, and the second one to be named after Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll. If you haven’t watched that YouTube video of the crew hugging one another after Hansen’s request, I challenge you to watch it without tearing up.

In a world that seems to be on the brink of daily disasters, upsets, global challenges and heart break, this journey has somehow united the world in love. Glover, on Easter Sunday gave an impromptu message: “In all of this emptiness — this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together,” he said of Earth. “I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we’ve gotta get through this together.”

Amen!

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