Theme Thursday: Time

Relay for Life Torch Garden- 2008
(each torch is in honor of a cancer survivor or in memory of a cancer victim)

I took these photos one month ago at our county's 2008 Relay for Life...where participants celebrate...remember...and fight back in honor of cancer survivors and victims.

A woman with whom I work named Deborah saw this same sight one year ago, when she walked in the survivor's lap, celebrating and fighting along with the rest of us, determined not to let cancer win...only to discover several months later, her cancer had returned with a vengence.

What a difference a year makes.

How can we know what will happen in only a year's time? What will happen to us in another year? What pains, sorrows, frustrations, or disappointments will we know in this next year? How do we deal with this uncertainty; what is it that keeps us sane in the face of such odds? Have you ever felt the weight of sorrow for someone else...just not really knowing what to do for them to ease this pain?

My heart has been heavy for Deborah this year. I have done so little for her, and I feel ashamed because of this. I shy away because of my own fears...but time is ticking. I hear it in my ears.

My mother suffered with breast cancer 14 years ago. She is now in remission, and I worry every day that, like Deborah, this might be the year it returns. Tick tock...

My cousin, Carolyn, also had breast cancer, and like Deborah, it has returned and spread. She takes each day one day at a time...tick tock...

I can not tell you how strong these women are...their strength causes me to marvel in awe at the love of God; His hand is on their lives. He has a plan for them...it is not for me to know or to understand. But still, I wonder at the passage of time....what it holds for these women, for me, for us all.

I know this is not the most uplifting post...but it is what is on my heart concerning time.

Please do not let it pass before you go and get checked by your doctor...do not wait until it is too late to get a physical...make your health one of your priorities!

There is HOPE for the future...one day, someone's son or daughter will be the genius who discovers the cure to this dreadful disease!

I have spent my last several posts pondering time concerning my own child's life...how is it that she can possibly be nineteen??? Time is such a curious concept...I know only one thing about it with certainty- it flies by...

Take the time to view everyone else's Theme Thursday posts here.

Thursday Theme: Spring

It WAS spring here, and oddly enough, we have had a bit of a cold snap...30's in the mornings, and 70ish by the afternnoons. It is actually kind of nice! The afternoons this week have been lovely, but I have been SO busy with testing and school functions that I could not really enjoy them. I am longing for a picnic in a nearby park...

This photo is from a recent afternoon in my parent's yard..."thrift" my mother calls this flower; it is in patches out by the mailbox. It reminds me of my childhood. Seeing it always makes spring offical for me.

Hope you are having a great week...basking in the sunlight, enjoying your spring-like weather, emerging from your winter's cocoon, and soaking in the delight of the newness of the world awakening. For more spring, visit Stacey at The Land of K.A.

Thursday Theme: Perfection

Life is just rarely perfect...my photos certainly are not perfect, but once in a blue moon, a perfect moment comes around. This is one of those times...

The daughter had surgery yesterday. It was not major surgery; it was an out-patient procedure, but she was still having surgery. She was nervous. I was nervous. I think everyone was nervous! I am certain that so MANY people prayed...she handled things so well that after the surgery, she wanted to go visit her cousin, MEB, at my parent's house (they keep her every afternoon after school until her parents get off from work). These photos show a perfection that can only be truly understood if you hear the squeals of delight from a five year old when she gets an unexpected visitor, someone she loves with her whole heart- someone who will color with her after just having had surgery...a perfection that can only be understood if you know what it is like to worry that your child might not wake up, only to see her laugh and play again...a perfection that means God is good...all the time...things WILL be alright...I just have to believe they will.

For other moments of perfection, please visit Stacey at The Land of K.A.!

Note: By the way, pathology reports on both the daughter and my mother will not be in until Tuesday. So, waiting and praying still!