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December 24, 2015
Merry Christmas to Everyone!
I
hope and pray this letter finds you all in the best of health and spirits! I pray you know how much each one of you is
loved and appreciated for the way you have touched our lives. This newsletter will be a bit different, but
then again 2015 was indeed a very different year for our family and
friends. Since Thanksgiving, I
contemplated whether or not to send out a Christmas letter, then, this morning,
I realized that I ABSOLUTELY HAVE to. The
desire to share with you, my loved ones, God’s mercy and grace overflow - I am
compelled to share with you His goodness and grace.
Late
October 2014, I was visiting a family member who was fighting breast cancer for
the SECOND time. The night before I was to
fly home, my dear dad let me know that another family member had been diagnosed
with breast cancer. Right then and there
I prayed, “God, things usually happen in threes, who is the third person?” His swift response was, “You.” Okaaayyy.
Me. So that night, I knew, even
before the mammogram and doctors’ phone calls, that I had breast cancer. And you know what? I was peaceful in the knowledge that God
would answer my consistent prayer as I faced various health issues: “God, please let me learn what You want me to
learn from this. And please let me be a
blessing to the doctors, nurses, medical staff and anyone else I come in
contact with during this season in my life.”
Throughout the following year, He was faithful to answer this prayer as
well.
The Wednesday
before Thanksgiving Ray and I listened to the radiologist who read my many
mammograms tell us that the location of the tumor was difficult to operate on
and he highly recommended that we begin our journey at MD Anderson. Not surprisingly, the LORD had shown me that
we would be taking a road trip to Houston and even which quilt I would be hand sewing
the binding onto. We began sharing this
news with our children, family and friends.
At this point, I started a blog which I still write in
occasionally: http://faithtrustandbreastcancer.blogspot.com/ .
After a several months battling with
our insurance company, we were in Houston where the doctors discovered the
cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. That
was scary to hear. Despite that news, there
were so many opportunities to encourage and be encouraged by my dear family, my
dear friend who drove from Dallas to visit us, the staff and residents in our
hotel! I would go to the lobby/dining
area and hand sew. This was a conversation
starter so I shared with as many people as I could and, by God’s grace,
encourage and be encouraged. I decided
to continue treatment with the wonderful surgeon and oncology team I had
already met with in El Paso. I somehow
knew my purpose in Houston had been fulfilled and there was no reason to
return.
After
6 months filled with 16 grueling chemotherapy treatments, a lumpectomy and
ancillary node dissection, 6 ½ weeks of radiation and now facing 1 – 2 years of
recovery from all the toxins, I am finally cancer free! Hallelujah!
Lessons
learned? Here’s just a few:
1. “Let the Big C
(Christ) take care of the little c (cancer).
Praying Through Cancer by Susan Sorensen and Laura Geist.
2. Live more fully, love without reservation and
with all my heart and laugh with gusto daily.
3. "God is bigger than the boogie man.” qtd.
Raquel, a youth from our church.
4. Some things just don’t
matter – most things actually – so simply (I know it’s easier said than done.) let
them go.
5. El Paso has a great radio station – KLOVE.
6. Life, and you my dear, sweet loved one, are
beautiful.
Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!
Celebrate Life!
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