Another Day Another Gift

Over the last year and a half I have been taught so much.  I have a new understanding of hospitals, nurses, doctors, cancer,brain tumor, chemo, radiation and the list goes on.  Having a child who is diagnosed with a brain tumor and then to find out it is cancer will most definitely grab your world shake it vigorously and throw it in a hundered different directions.  One could easily sit back and question WHY?  However then again what good would that do?  At the age of seven I asked Jesus into my heart.  I asked Him to be my Lord and Savior and guide me on this journey of life.  I never knew just what an adventure it would be!  As I look back over the last couple of years I have seen how my walk with the Lord has grown.  I was uprooted from my "normal" life.  You know the one where I had four kids, took two to school and the others to the grocery store every Monday.  I cooked, I cleaned, I went to Bible Study every Tuesday, church on Wednesday and the list goes on.  This was my "normal!"  Suddenly we were told our five year old had a brain tumor.  Long story short he had surgery in TN to remove it only to discover ten days later he had cancer.  Wow talk about walking, better yet running into a brick wall.  I will never forget the day I was told he had a tumor.  I will never forget the day I was told he had cancer.  The feeling in the pit of my stomach was undescribable.  However as life shattering as all of this was I was given a heavenly peace.  I know it was as if the Lord scooped me up in His arms and promised to never ever let me go.  And guess what to this day He has not nor will He!  After our son's diagnosis the four kids and I moved temporarily to TN where he received his treatments.  We spent four months there.  We were put in a place where in the begining knew no one.  However God provided on so many levels.  God provided an amazing home for us to stay in called Habitat for Hope (http://www.habitatforhope.org/ )  God not only provided shelter but friends who are now "forever family" as I like to call them!  God provided food, babysitters, family, He even provided a radio station.  You may laugh but God is in the details!  Every last one!  There were so many things I missed about home.  Many sacrifices were made by us and on our behalf.  I can honestly say that at no point did I ever feel alone.  I missed home with all that was in me but I had a peace in knowing, I was where I was suppose to be at that very moment.  God continued to reassure me of that often.  I will be forever grateful to my TN "family" and all they provided.  I know many back home who felt helpless and said all they could do was pray.  Well friends I am here to tell you prayer is crucial!  All those prayers were working!  The prayers kept us safe, blessed us and helped provide that unexplainable strength.  I still get asked "how do you do it?  Four kids really, are they all yours and how do you do it?  How do you go on, how did you handle three kids and a fourth with cancer?"   My answer was and still is God. I know some of you reading this may think I am clueless and there is no God.  Well I am here to tell you different.  I am here to inform you there is and He is real!  Oh how I wish you would come to know Him and enjoy the blessings in this life and eternity.  God is who got me out of bed on the really hard days.  God is who held me when there was no one to hold me.  He is the one who wouldn't let me pull the covers over my head, lock my bedroom door and never come out again.  He is the one who was and always has been there no matter the time or place.  He has never let me down or let me go.  He continues to make Himself known in my day to day life.  I make no apologies He is real and He is everything to me.  He created me and He can take me away.  He is the one who spoke the breath of life into every living creature on this planet.  Yes our days are numbered.  So what are you doing with your life?  Today and everyday I want to live for God.  I want to strive to do His work that He has called me to do.  I have seen what He has done in my life, my children and our home.  Am I perfect or sinless NO by no means.  I am thankful for life and the wild ride it has been.  I look forward to each new day as it is another chance to enjoy the gifts God has given me.  Cancer has taught me to enjoy the precious moments in life a little more.  I savor the hugs, kisses, and talks with my family and friends.  I watch a sunset in even more awe and fascination than before.  I love my church and worshiping even more.  So "normal" well that is a thing of the past.  I don't ever want to be "normal" again.  I don't want to take life and the gifts I have for granted because I know at any moment they can all be taken from me.  Every so often God surprises me with little reminders He is still there and hasn't forgotten me.  I love to call them God Kisses.  Little kisses from God to remind me I am His child and He will never let go.  I am so thankful for another hug, another kiss, another day, another gift!