Reminder

I'm kind of a mess today. I woke up to the news that Jen Burgess Thompson went to heaven this morning. She is my age and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last August. You can read her blog here.  I'd encourage you to take some time scrolling through it today. We have matching scars although let's be honest: her stomach is much flatter than mine. She says alot of stuff I couldn't say. We had the same treatment and her portrayal is brutal.

I am devastated at her passing. Although I've never met her, I think I probably feel about her the way some of you feel about me. I feel as if she became a friend via her blog posts, instagram and facebook feed. Her highs became my highs, her lows my lows.

It's been a hard morning. But it's made me think alot about all I have to be thankful for: I'm still here for my kids and family. My cancer hasn't grown in 18 months. That's some kind of miracle all in itself, even there are lot of days that it doesn't feel like a miracle. 

And it's a reminder to step back and take it easy. To love on my people a little more. To show them a little more kindness, a little more patience. Okay, alot more patience. To just keep taking one day at a time, putting one foot in front of the other.

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

 

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

 

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.#

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

 

God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

 

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

 

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 

Come and see what the Lord has done,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

 

He makes wars cease

to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the shields# with fire.

 

He says, "Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

 

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.