Thankful For the Anniversary We Didn't Expect to Celebrate!

A year ago we didn't expect to celebrate our 47th Wedding Anniversary. Doctors gave us a grim cancer diagnosis.  "Rapid progression, unresponsive to treatment, low survivability" concluded a mountain of test results.

To our surprise, the peace and presence of God, which other cancer patients attest to, filled us with praise, thankfulness, and humor. We determined to laugh, celebrate each day, and treasure the time we had left together.

If my days were short, I wanted them filled with joy, not sadness.

 Oncologists urged us to go away and have fun. I do what my doctor orders.  Last September we headed for Hilton Head to celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary. For two glorious weeks we enjoyed our love, the blessings of being alive, the treasure of time together.

In December my doctors were as excited as we were to learn a new drug had been approved for my type of cancer.  Take 3 pills a day  (one in the Name of the Father, one in the Name of the Son, and one in the Name of the Holy Spirit) and your cancer progression may stop.

And stop it did! 

Today my blood counts are normal.

 I feel better and have more energy than I have in years. 

Other than my cute chemo curls, there are no side effects.

This week Dan and I celebrate an anniversary we didn't expect to see—our 47th! We're returning to the same Hilton Head condo with thanks to God for the sweet gifts of marriage and time.

Looking back,

 I realize this last year has been the best year of our married life. 

Why? 

Because when we face the death of a spouse, priorities and perspectives change.

We treasure every moment. 

Idiosyncrasies are funny, not irritating.

We dance and sing together. 

We hold hands.

We sit together on the couch. 

We touch—often. 

We do today all the things we talked about, but never made time to do. 

We kiss—over and over. 

We tell each other "I love you"—constantly. 

We stop arguing. 

We treat each other with kindness. 

We let each other have his/her way. 

We go to bed together. 

We look into each other's eyes when we  speak and when we are quiet. 

We smile. 

We laugh. 

We love deeply. 

Cancer was a gift to us. A wake-up call to the treasure of love, life, and time. Don't wait for a crisis in your marriage to begin living love deeply.

"Above all, love each other deeply . . . . " 1 Peter 4:8

Praying for marriages as we splash in the Atlantic Ocean! 

My Cancer Miracle! Thank You for Praying!

"Did she just say I was terminal?" I asked my husband as the oncologist left us alone to digest the test results.

"We're all terminal." The only words my hand-holding husband could say as he comforted me and grasped his own sudden grief.

We didn't tell anyone. Not one. Try telling your children you are soon to die. Impossible to do. A mother's heart can never hurt her child. I couldn't inflict that pain on them. Not yet.  I was still stage 0, so we held on to that hope and the promises of God to carry us through this quick journey to Heaven.

Doctors chastised us. "You must tell people. Your children need to know. You can't bear this alone." The conclusion of test results saying "rapid progression, low survivability, high risk, not responsive to treatment" haunted me all hours of the day and night.

Then it happened. I got sick. Thanksgiving 2016 I thanked God that He had given me nine months, because in one month I went from stage 0 to stage 3 high risk leukemia.

"We've got great news for you!" was not what I expected to hear the oncologist say. "A new drug specifically for high risk leukemia has just been approved. You take three pills a day. There are no
side effects. You won't get sick or lose your hair. It has a 90 percent effective rate."

Good news indeed! The week before Christmas Dan and I prayed over our pills (Ha! They are our pills, not my pills, because from day one Dan assured me we are one in sickness and in health.)  We asked God to Please destroy the leukemia and keep it from progressing. And please Lord, let me be in the 90 percent where they are effective and not the 10 percent who die.

Celebrate with me that I had no side effects from the medicine and the best news ever:

Last week my blood count was normal!!! 

"Phenomenal!" my oncologist gasped and then said again, "This is phenomenal!"

Why are we surprised? We're not. We have a phenomenal God who can do not only the impossible, but also the phenomenal.

Thank you for your prayers. Oncologists expect I will live a full and long life. What joy knowing He has more work for me to do here on earth.

Yes, I am writing a book as I travel the cancer road, for God has taught me much about the joy of life that healthy people miss. Please pray my words will be God's words. Thank you.

Splashes of Serenity. Every day there are splashes of serenity. Don't miss yours today.