One More Distraction

Today my neutrophil count went from 30 to 20.

As I explained, probably yesterday, neutrophils are the cells in your blood that fight bacterial infections. Below 1500 or 2500, depending on what web site you read, you are considered low. Below 1000 you are considered at increased risk for infection. Below 500, you are dangerously at risk for infection.

We leukemia chemo patients always hit zero, at least if the chemotherapy worked.

I'm finally off zero. After two days at 10, I jumped to 30, but today it was 20.

All my other blood counts were up, so it's really nothing to worry about.

So I didn't worry. I took it well.

But there was this nagging thing in the back of my mind, barely noticeable.

There are many New Testament commands to set our eyes on Jesus and to think about spiritual or eternal things. Romans 8 tells us that the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. The mind set on the flesh, however, cannot please God.

Neutrophil counts, other increased blood counts, positive attitudes ... there are so many things to get my eyes on the fickle fates of this world—things over which I have no control whatsoever.

Yet I live daily with this promise that if my mind is set on invisible things, things that last forever, then I will be renewed day by day, and these momentary, light afflictions I'm experiencing will cause an eternal harvest of glory (2 Cor. 4).

Yeah, yeah, I know. Nice, high-sounding spiritual words.

But they work.

My job's to walk the course God has set for me, not to have things go well. When I keep my eyes set on eternal goals, this life's easy. There's a peace that dogs my steps, no nagging doubts, and a contagious joy that affects everyone around me.

Or I can have a good attitude, and people look at me and say, "Are you sure everything's okay?"

I guess people can decide for themselves whether I'm living an imaginary life, or whether the things that the apostle Paul talked about are true.

I find them gloriously true.

All that other stuff is just a distraction. Amazing how many of them there are.

People are here. Gotta go!