When I think back about the year 2010 a couple of things stand out in my mind, one is the “C” word and the other is books.
The Sad:
The “C” word in this case is CANCER. It has plagued my world for the last year. It started in November 2009 when a very dear lady, Muriel Barbour passed away from cancer. Muriel is the mother of a childhood friend, Lisa. Growing up as a frequent visitor at their house I always admired her. She was always so kind to everyone, an incredible teacher, such an eloquent way with words, a devoted wife and mother, and a tireless soldier for God. Muriel taught me what it means to be a good wife and mother. I remember the last time I visited with her before she died, as I reflected on her life and struggles and the way she handled them with such grace, I felt so inadequate and realized I have so far to go to be half the woman she was.
Next a friend since high school, Laurie’s father, James Shiels, was diagnosed with cancer. He died within days of the surgery that was supposed to give him a second chance at life. I admire the way Laurie has been a pillar of strength for her mother and sister during the very difficult times they have had since his passing.
The same day Laurie’s dad died, my childhood friend, Sharron’s dad, Frank Williams, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. As I write this he is in his last days of life. Some of my best childhood memories are of her dad playing with us as kids. We couldn’t have been more than 4 or 5 when we would stand on her bed, screaming at the top of our lungs, holding on to each other for dear life, as her dad pretended to be a monster coming to get us. We loved it! We would giggle and giggle when it was over. I will never forget how he took time out of his busy days to play with two little girls.
In the middle of all of the parents with cancer my generation was affected too. I have one friend who had a cancer diagnosis in March also. When they did the surgery the Dr told them he didn’t see any cancer. We were praising God. The pathology reports came back and there was a little bit there. But so little no chemo or radiation was required, so we are still praising God!! I had my own scare with a thyroid nodule which turned out to be benign and doesn’t even have to be removed….more praising God. Then the third one, right after my negative test results another friend had a positive test result. She is a 42 year old single mom with stage 4 cancer. I hope this time next year we are praising God for her healing too. Please join Susan’s friends and family in praying for her.
And the last bit of sadness was when a former coworker, Malinda Pettit, lost her life when a repo man towing a Jeep Cherokee ran a red light and hit her car. She died later from injuries sustained. She left behind a husband and five year old daughter. Her daughter started Kindergarten 3 months later and her mother wasn’t there to see her first day. Just one of many firsts that her mother will not be at because some jerk did ran a red light. By the way, he only got a ticket for running a red light. You can join me in doing something about that injustice by joining the organization set up by her siblings and husband, Live Through Loss….you can find it on my facebook page.
Lesson Learned: Life is precious, family and friends are what is important. It doesn’t matter what riches you gain here on earth, you can’t take them with you. What you truly leave behind is the impact you had on others, the lives you touched, and the memories you created.
The Happy:
I am lucky enough to now know THREE published authors!! That’s right… three of my friends became published authors in 2010! The first one I grew up with at Monument Heights and he is one of best friends, Greg Long. Not only did he become a published author this year but he also won a Gold Medal Moonbeam award for his Christian Children’s book, Today I Found God. I was there in the beginning when we were in the youth group together and he was writing stories on the back of whatever he could find in the pew racks during church. Here we are twenty something years later and look what evolved out of that ...an incredible children’s ministry. You can check it out for yourself at http://www.laughalongbooks.com/.
Next, my friend Cindy Currier had her book, Forgiveness: The Hero’s Journey, published. Cindy and I met six years ago when she and I worked together. She is a very dear friend, an insightful woman and therapist. Cindy’s book is about the cycles of forgiveness. It teaches you how to overcome the monsters and shame of your past so you can move towards the light, forgiveness. Cindy is the only person I know who, like me, keeps going back to school. Of course, she finishes a different degree every time and I am still working on the first one. Way to go Cindy! She has a facebook page for her book, you can find the link on my page.
Lastly, my old neighbor and fellow church member, Roger Bruner, had his first of a series published, Found in Translation. I have not read it yet (I will soon), I understand it is a teen girls Christian Fiction novel. And to make it even better he worked on it with his daughter! What an awesome way to spend some father daughter time!! I look forward to reading it even though I am no longer a teen girl:-) You can find out more about Roger’s writings at http://www.rogerbruner.com/.
Lesson Learned: The youngest of these newly published authors is 41. This reminds me that it is not too late for me to pursue the desires of my heart. We have choices to make in life, we can chose to always wish we had done something else….or we can do it and have no regrets. Now….what am I going to do to make it happen? That is where my New Year’s Resolution lies...and that is for another day!
Conclusion:
Here is hoping 2011 brings us less tears and more celebrations!! And through it all let’s not forget to be thankful for the thorns and the roses.
