Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

that supposed to mean? Tanner grabbed hold of the nearest chair
to steady himself. And what would happen if the tumor grew tentacles...?
Tanner was too terrified to ask. He forced himself to slip
into lawyer mode, so he could ask questions without allowing his
emotions to get in the way. "What are her chances?"
"If the tumor does what I want it to, I think they're good.
There are risks of course, but we can talk about those later."
It was after three o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, and Tanner was exhausted. He'd stayed in a vinyl
reclining chair, which the nurses set up adjacent to jade's bed. Though he was comfortable enough, Tanner
couldn't bring himself to sleep. Instead he watched the monitors flashing Jade's vital signs. And when he
grew restless, he would visit the neonatal intensive care. They'd
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told him he could come any hour of the day or night to see
Madison, and even though he could only stroke her tiny arm through the holes in the incubator, he wanted
to spend as much time with her as possible.
Now that everyone was gone, Tanner leaned back in the chair and took jade's hand in his. Maybe he could
grab an hour's sleep before dinner was delivered. He studied jade and thought it strange that her stomach
was so flat. Overnight she looked as though she'd never carried Madison.
Something sank in Tanner's gut as the reason dawned on him. Her lack of excess weight was because of
the cancer. She'd barely gained ten pounds. No wonder her stomach was flat. In fact, if anything she
looked thinner than before she got pregnant. Too thin.
He sighed out loud. One more thing to worry about. His eyes closed and he turned his thoughts toward
God. How do I get through it, Lord? It feels like we're walking through a minefield and everywhere we
turn there's danger
In response, he pictured the plaque on his desk, and the inscribed words filled his mind: Be still, and
know that I am God... The words soothed his heart and shone a ray of light through
the dark tunnel they were traveling. That was it, really. The answer to life's most difficult moments. Life
was full of craziness, chaos and inexplicable tragedy Like the tragedy a year ago of the fallen Twin
Towers in New York City or the damaged Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
What sense did life make at all if not for that one single verse. He could almost hear the Lord whispering
the words directly to his soul.
Be still, Tanner, My son. Be still, and know that I am God.
The words calmed him and lulled him to sleep. Two hours later he felt something on his arm and he was
instantly awake.
271 "What is it?" He looked around and found jade studying him from her hospital bed.
She giggled at him. "Sorry. I didn't want to wake you."
He sat straight up and moved to the edge of the chair, searching her face for signs of weakness or trouble
or any one of the myriad of troubles Dr. Layton said might come to pass. "How are you?"
"Fine." A smile filled her face. "How's Maddie?"
The tension left Tanner's neck and shoulders. "She's beautiful.
No problems, just a bit small. The doctor said she can go home as
soon as she hits five pounds."
Jade's face glowed in response. "God's so good to us, Tanner."
Dr. Layton's warnings from earlier that morning ran through
Tanner's mind, but he pushed them back. "Yes." He took jade's
hand in his and ran his finger over the bruise marks where the IV
had been for her C-section. "God is very good."