Friday started off wonderfully. I woke up next to my husband, officially married for two years. We had spent the day before celebrating. A bit of shopping, eating at the Melting Pot for dinner, staying at the Grand America. We ended our celebration with a little breakfast before heading home just in time for me to pack Jake’s lunch and see him off to work. My phone rang while I was packing his lunch. It was my parents. I figured they were calling to see how our anniversary had been, and since I was hurrying I decided to call them back after Jake left.
Jake left, I called them back. But what was said is almost a blur… Mom went to the doctor…. a lump… not the results we were hoping for… Breast Cancer. I sank to the ground, my eyes filled with tears. How bad?… We’re not sure… waiting for MRI test results… researching doctors and treatment plans… I shook my head my head in disbelief. Not my mom. Surely they’re talking about someone else. Not my sweet, loving, unconditionally giving mom.
But it is. Cancer. My mom has cancer. Just typing those words makes my eyes fill to the brim with tears. It’s still hard to believe. Sometimes I feel like it’s not real. But every time I hear it said, every time I have to say it, it sinks in a little more, stinging as it settles.
We are optimistic, though. There are already a myriad of things to be grateful for about the situation. My mom actually found it herself, and we seem to have caught it early. This type of cancer is usually very difficult to detect, so the fact that my mom found it at all, let alone early, is a bit of miracle. The prayers, love, and support we have already seen pouring in from people are so uplifting. And prayer is a powerful thing.
So we will get through this. My mom is strong. She is a fighter. It is going to be a very long, strenuous road, but I have faith that, God willing, she will make it through. And she will come out even stronger.
” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’ “ Jeremiah 29:11
Riss-
This is a post that none of us want to read. I have been thinking about this a lot lately and it does come back to the why do bad things happen to good people (in this case an amazingly GREAT person). There is no other answer other than God wants us to feel His presences and we can become stronger from it.
Also, think about your favorite sunrises or sunsets. I would be willing to bet that most of them included clouds, think of those clouds as troubles in life… Things can look great without them but because of those clouds it can become so much more beautiful.
Love you guys (my second family)!!!!
My dear friend I am very sorry to hear about your mother’s diagnosis. It is certainly not anything any children wants to hear. But as you said, and to quote Paolo Cuelho said in The Alchemist: The secret to life is falling down seven times and getting back up eight.” =)