2026 – The Journey Continues – God has a Plan and Purpose for Our Lives – Part XVI

Monday, I received my third chemo and immunotherapy infusion and two weeks of chemo pills. The nausea and loss of appetite was intense than ever, to be expected at this phase. Flavored oatmeal and cheese grits are what I can tolerate. I expect this to subside some, the third week after chemo, when I can resume some of normal eating.

Next Monday, I meet with my ENT, to take a second look at my vocal cords, and I have sent a message to my Emory neurologist, to brief him on changes since we met in October. Hopefully, we are going get to the bottom of this voice challenge.

Silence relates to my vocation as a fully professed Third Order Lay Carmelite. Silence is a vital part of the charism of prayer, community and service. Contemplative prayer requires making time for God, allowing Him to speak to your heart, revealing the plan and purpose for your life. This practice of contemplative prayer goes back to the desert fathers who migrated to the Holy Land around 1200 AD and lived as hermits on the slopes of Mt Carmel in Isreal.

My experience is that I had a one-bedroom condo when I worked in Atlanta, and where I started my writing reflections in 2013. When I got up in the morning, I read scripture and the lives of the saints. I practiced silence a lot and found revelations came to me as what to write, made manifest in my reflections. Contemplative prayer has been designated as “friendship with God”. I enjoy a stream of consciousness with God, as He is always by my side. I consider the current bout with cancer with silence as a gesture of humility if which I am to grow and be an example to others, however the outcome. I pray for healing, bolstered by your prayers