2017 has started out with a bang for me...And then in the blink of an eye...it's the middle of March!
As with most of the world, at the end of 2016 I started thinking about 2017...
What was going to be my "word" to focus on, and what goals did I have for Choose Joy? In 2016 as you know, we had a successful launched of the book Choose Joy: Finding Hope and Purpose When Life Hurts. The paperback version was set to release in 2017, but what was going to be next steps for keeping God's word and Sara's discipleship alive and moving forward?
As I was reflecting on all these questions, the word that came to me was Faithful!
The word is a reminder that the plans that I have for God's word and Choose Joy doesn't really matter...it's what God's plans are and I need to be faithful.
Then in January, after scheduling all my annual wellness checks at the end of 2016, I received a message from my mammogram screening. I needed to schedule a follow up mammogram and they wouldn't clear me until I did. My heart skipped, but I also knew that it wasn't unusual for people to get called back for a second screening.
After a second mammogram reading and ultrasound, I was informed that they saw something suspicious and wanted to schedule me for a follow up biopsy. The doctor reassured me that it was precautionary and possibly only a 1% chance it would be cancer. So, a followup appointment was scheduled to perform a biopsy.
Within 24 hours of the biopsy, I received the call we all dread! You have breast cancer!
I won't bore you with all the details of the weeks that followed, other than I had surgery to remove the cancer and there has been lots of testing and Dr. visits to understand the treatment plan moving forward. This week I will have a port put in to begin 20 weeks of chemotherapy followed by 6 weeks of radiation.
My family and I are in a state of being overwhelmed and disbelief. Something we never dreamed we would be facing. We have no family history of breast cancer...and really...haven't we been through enough!
Then my sweet Sara's words flow through my mind and I surrender to the One who can bring me peace. I turn to gratitude that even though the next several months will be extremely difficult, the cancer was caught early. Instead of facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, I am facing a process of healing so I don't have to face that terminal diagnosis.
As I continue 2017 I will continue to focus on being faithful and continue to honor the legacy of Sara 'Gitz' and be a disciple of God's message. I trust Him to lead me and know I will be able to Choose Joy by trusting Him to lead me. I will choose to be His disciple.
I pray that you too are finding the JOY of God in your daily walk.