The Journey

On this morning, I am sitting at a table on the 19th floor balcony. The "power tool workers" have either gone on strike, finished with the loud part of the pool project, or are off on Saturdays. Whatever the case, I am grateful for this balcony time when I can soak in the soothing song of the ocean.

Since the weather is unseasonably warm, people are starting to gather on the beach....a little girl wearing a pink shirt walks beside her daddy and occasionally stops to bend down and examine a pretty seashell....a little boy runs toward the ocean to gather water in his sand bucket...a daddy is holding his toddler's hand tightly so the child does not fall in the sand or wander into the crashing ocean waves...the sounds of laughter....couples of all ages walking without a specific destination....individuals jogging or walking alone.

As I watch from my 19th floor balcony "perch", I see life and hear the sounds of life. And, I am reminded that life is precious.

On this last day of March in 2010, I had no idea that I was carrying a small malignant tumor in my body. No idea that, on the next day, I would receive a call that would forever change my outlook on life.

The days that followed that phone call were filled with the emotions that go along with surgery, radiation, and uncertainty. At the same time, I was dealing with emotions that accompanied watching my husband leave after 28 years of marriage. I would think I was coping fine, then would find myself crying while lying very still on a table as radiation filled the cavity that had housed the small tumor.

During those radiation treatments, I listened to a piano CD that I had recorded a couple of years prior to that time. Before recording those songs of the faith, I had prayed that God would use the CD to minister and comfort at just the right time. Only God knew that the CD would comfort me during some very dark days. After completing my round of high dose radiation treatments, I left the CD in the radiation center in hopes that it would comfort others who would travel the same path in future days.

Tomorrow I will be a two year cancer survivor. It feels so good to write those words! I am very aware that many have had a much more difficult path during their cancer journey. But, I am grateful for my journey. And, on this day, I am thankful for the gift of life.

John 10:10b - I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (more abundantly).

Psalm 139:14a - I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Psalm 139:16 - All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

Lord, thank you for the journey, and for the gift of life.