THURSDAY THOUGHTS - "There Is Always Hope, Faith, and Tomorrow Morning"

Guest Post -

Each year as Mother's Day approaches my husband, Ron, and I make a trip to the nursery to choose the bedding plants for our yard.  The together we plan them so I can watch them grow all summer long.  This has been my Mother's Day gift for several years and I can't think of better one.  As we shopped this year, we selected three beautiful Peony bushes for the northeast corner of our front yard.  They were in full bloom with hot pink flowers when we purchased them, a somewhat different choice for us, but we both liked them so we took them home and spent the day planting them along with the Geraniums we bought.

After the first blooming flowers wilted and we removed them, I became concerned because I couldn't see any new buds to replace them.  The leaves looked pretty sad too and at one point, I considered replacing them altogether.  I know flowers go through a shock when they are transplanted, but it had been nearly a month... longer than any plants I remember taking to adjust.  Ron told me that some flowers go through a dormant phase, so we should wait a little longer and I agreed to give them a last chance.  We checked them every day and before long, we saw the new buds working their way out.  Not only were there more buds, but they shot up much taller than the original flowers did.  I was thrilled and so grateful we didn't uproot and replace them.

This experience taught (or should I say re-taught) me the important principle of patience.  Most things that are worthwhile take time to materialize.  It takes time for new marriages to find their rhythm and for more mature marriages to keep their rhythm strong; it take time and patience to wait for babies to be born, especially for those moms who are pregnant through the hot summer months; it takes time and patience to build homes and for mortgages to be paid off; it takes time for Cancer surgeries to heal and for chemo and radiation treatments to be completed.  And how about finishing college degrees or seeing family members through the rough patches in their lives?

Richard L. Evans, a well respected writer and spiritual leader, penned a wonderful quote that reads, "Always again there is another day.  Always, eternally there is hope and faith and tomorrow morning."  It is hard to wait as we discover what will or will not work in a marriage; as we endure waiting for a baby to be born and learn how to parent after they get here; as we wait until the discomfort and exhaustion of chemo and radiation treatments are over; and while we wait and watch as our loved ones struggle to learn many of life's most difficult lessons.  But just as the Peony plants in my front yard took hold when they were ready, the times and seasons of our lives ebb, flow and unfold when the time is right.  And thank heavens as Evans so aptly said, "There is always hope, faith and tomorrow morning."

-Kathy Christensen
Survivor
Member, Lifting Hearts

TUESDAY TIDINGS - A Breast Cancer Survivor's Blog...

I found a blog about a woman's breast cancer journey a little over a year ago that I really felt the need to follow. Why? Well, first, this woman was of the same faith I am, so many of the things she wrote about during her cancer journey resonated with me and touched me deeply. When I started reading her blog, she was close to the end of her cancer journey. She was diagnosed in 2007, and I found the blog at the end of 2009. One of the first things I read about was her decision to stop fighting the cancer with chemo, and live the rest of her life free from the complications chemo caused. This is the second reason I decided to follow her blog. I wanted to understand this decision she made. It was a tough one, and I'm not sure what I would have done in a similar situation. Another reason... her faith was so strong that it grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I found myself cheering for her, crying with her, hoping with her. And then came the day that I found out she had died. It was a hard thing for me to read about. She had several young children, and a wonderful husband - and I found myself wishing that she was still here. I don't think I've been as touched by any other blog as I have with Amber's.

Some of the things that I remember her saying...

"There are days when I long for heaven, and days when I long to stay here on Earth."

"I am trying to live well, and trying to die well. It is a difficult thing to do."

"I am a woman of faith, and I know that God's plan was not for me to beat my cancer. I know He has a purpose for calling me home early, and I know that I will be my children's guardian angel after I die."

It's been a year now since Amber Chase passed away, and I just stumbled on her blog again. So, I thought I'd share it with you. All of her writings are archived there - if you wish to read any of the posts, simply click on the archives, and the posts will show up down the left side of the blog.

Be aware that some of these posts can be difficult to read, especially if you are still going through your cancer journey. It is not my intent to upset anyone, or make things harder for anyone. So, if you think you need to wait awhile before visiting this blog, that's fine. However, it is very inspirational. Hopefully you'll find something in Amber's writings that will help you.

-Kara

The blog address is: http://amberchase.weebly.com/our-blog.html

THURSDAY THOUGHTS - Faith

"Author Henry Nouwen writes about interviewing a famous circus performer and asking the trapeze flyer how he could perform such an extraordinary feat. The man told Nouwen that it was simple, that all he had to do was let go. The catcher does all the work. To me, that is the perfect definition of faith: just let go, and trust that God, the Great Catcher, will do all the work."

-Pam, "Finding the "CAN" in Cancer", page 208