A Spring of Joy

My dear friend, Dr. Nat, came for a couple days. A couple days of wonderfulness… good conversations, yummy food cooked by Chef Nat, playing games with small ones, early morning coffee together, book time with Super Nanny Nat, sharing new music finds, and just being.

The letter arrived just before she left, and I ripped it open, a feeling of nausea in my stomach. They weren’t supposed to contact me for 3 more days at the earliest.

It was awesome to be able to tell Nat in person that…

The scan was CLEAR. There is no recurrence. And I am not facing any more scans for another whole year. A year, y’all. It’s all a bit mind-blowing and overwhelming to think they aren’t going to be actively looking for cancer in my body because well, there’s none there!

I feel like I can breathe for the first time in 2 1/2 years.

EXHALE.

Then I breathe in again and steel myself for the months of recovery ahead. I know there will be a lot of trudging. A lot of digging and climbing out of this chasm.

But as weary as my steps will be, each footfall will be a bit lighter knowing the cancer burden is gone.

We are so grateful.

God has brought us through so much. You, my group of blogosphere friends, have bolstered me and encouraged me through your words and prayers. Each comment to remind me of truth and support has lifted me up in ways I can’t even begin to describe. You’ve made your presence known to me and shown me Him.

Thank you for walking in my dark chasm with me, for helping me as I work to climb out, for encouraging me as I’ve been knocked about in ways that hurt abominably. He has shown me Himself and His beauty through you. Here’s to the next phase of my journey–with Him and with you.

(Monica sent me this quote when we heard the news that I was cancer free from the thyroid cancer… and it is perfect. Just perfect.)

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity