Saturday 9/14
George and I are surely in a much different place than we were last year at this time. George had surgery on 9/14/12 to remove a mass on his thyroid and at that point, we still had no clue what our futures would hold. Today, last year, they would send the tumor they extracted to the pathology lab. In just a few short hours we would know our fate. We would either be home-free or we would face a second surgery and cancer therapy. I just knew God's plan was that we would be home-free. If we faced another surgery and therapy, he might not graduate on time (and God DID want him to graduate and help people asap, right?). Not to mention that a second surgery meant the tumor was cancerous and scary enough for the doctors to want to remove the entire thyroid. I just knew it would be the end of this ordeal for us. But it was not. God had some lessons, blessings and gifts to give us.
One lesson we both had to learn was how to RECEIVE. As I look back I am stunned at how well our church cared for us. The best way to describe the experience was that we were "carried". Carried by our church, carried by our friends, carried by our families. Others stepped into the places I had committed myself at youth group (I do not and never will know who). Others cooked dinner for us as often as we wanted it. Someone else loved, entertained and cared for our two year old. One friend even picked our son up the night before George's first surgery. Our two year old spent the night with this family (who also had a baby who was not even two yet) and then this friend drove our son to Wilmington to stay with Nana and PaPa for the weekend. Then he drove Georgie back to us on Sunday. God chose these willing servants to do his work sometimes but other times, He- in all his sovereignty- carried us himself. He relieved me of my job in April of 2012. At the time, it was a huge blow to my self esteem and my self worth. But God knew I would need to be focused on my family because just two short months later, George saw the tumor on his neck for the first time. I never once had to call my boss to say I would need another day, or week, off to go to a doctor's appointment or to care for my husband after surgery. During the cancer therapy I never had to worry how I would provide an iodine free breakfast, lunch and dinner for George after a long day's work. I was able to do all that while little George napped because I was home. God took care of all that for me. He also provided monetarily for our family during that time. Since I was "laid-off" I was able to receive unemployment for six months. I will chronicle that debacle at a later date but as stressful, strange, unexpected and hard as it was, we were carried through that too. God also provided a low-stress job with flexible hours for me. I had never dreamed I would work in a bakery- one of the loves of my life- but that was a gift God chose to give me at this time in my life.
God carried us with the gift of Corrie, George's sitter. Corrie began to take care of George when I returned to work from maternity leave. He was three months old and she continued to care for him until we moved to California. Their family became a part of our family over the course of those three years. It was a miracle that she was able to keep George part time after I lost my job. She needed full time work and I could not afford to put him in full time care since I was no longer employed. Out of the goodness of her heart she agreed to help until she found another full time person. She never got another full time child, but a few new part timers. I see this as God's provision for us both. I was able to go with my husband to any appointment we thought was necessary, to cook for him, to care for him. She was so important to George's development during this time. She was a constant when so much change was present in George's little life. She never refused me when I asked for an earlier drop off or later pick up if I needed to be there for my husband. She even came over once when I had a stomach bug and picked him up from his crib to take him so I could take care of myself. You don't find people like that everyday. I thank God for her. She and her family were a gift. A true blessing.
So you can see how he carried us. He also taught us. We prayed more together during this time. We were humbled as the meal calendar filled up after only an hour, sometimes two separate meals by the same person. We were humbled as friends drove from thirty minutes away in rush hour traffic to bring us a meal. As the emails, calls and cards trickled in consistently, always encouraging us in the right moments, we were humbled. And our parents and sisters and extended family!!! Wow, words cannot express how much they helped us, loved us, encouraged us along the way. We could not have done it, and stayed sane, had it not been for them, our biggest prayer warriors, our biggest fans. George's phone calls with his sisters were a source of unparalleled encouragement for him. He needed them so much. Sometimes I could not be emotionally present for him because I cared for a little person who happened to be experiencing the "terrible twos". When I could not be there for him, one of his sisters was always at the ready with good advice, or just a listening, compassionate ear. My sister was a free babysitter whenever we needed it and gave us the completely necessary gift of time as husband and wife to talk through all the emotions that come with a cancer diagnosis. Our parents. Oh, our parents. I cannot even begin to say how much we are indebted to them. From their presence at both surgeries to understanding when we were not present at family events, their care for our son countless times when it was surely not convenient for them....If there was a need, if we as much as thought it, there they were to step in. If everyone had a family that cared half as much as our families do, this world would be a beautiful place. Phone calls, cards and letters from aunts, uncles and cousins also carried us. To say the very least, we were humbled by all of this. To be humbled sounds so wonderful doesn't it? Actual humility is a tough business though. If you've ever been humbled like this you know it comes with a sense of guilt or a sense that we did not deserve what had been done for us. So even though it sounds like we received a ton and it was just this beautiful season of plenty, this was really a lesson for us and I am only now, a year later, able to see it as clearly as I do. So I am so thankful that today, 9/14/13,we are where we are, but I am also extremely thankful for where we WERE and where we were taken, how we were shaped and molded and refined.
Zech 13:9
"...This third I will bring into the fire, I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them"
Thank you Lord for this experience. I called on your name, and you indeed answered me.
Beautiful!
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