Encouragement for Moms
January 21, 2012
Put Your Mask on First! Valuable Lessons From Cancer
Day one of my cancer diagnosis, involved hypothetically clearing my overflowing agenda. Immediately the whole family rallied, ultimately removing all of my obligations, that did not first and foremost promote my health and longevity. While it was a welcome relief, I was not seeking personal gain; like most mothers, I sacrificially made changes for the sake of my family, as I had done so many times before. “I must forgo my comfort, for the sake of my family” was the inaccuracy that I, like so many others, clung to. At that stage in the game, I still felt indispensible to my husband, my children and various other areas of my life. If I was going to go the distance, a U-Turn was required; I needed begin seriously caring for myself, even if that meant a temporary disconnect from a lot of responsibility. As I shifted gears, my lifestyle morphed into a world that was foreign to anything I had ever experienced. I thought, “No wonder I got cancer, no one in their right mind should as
December 24, 2011
What’s so Merry About Christmas?
What is Christmas for you? Is it stressful shopping trips to the mall, complete with elevated crime, bumper to bumper traffic, parking nightmares, and impatient, pushy crowds? Perhaps it is pulling down boxes of decorations that you dread putting back away in a few weeks. There's always the overblown spending issue, racking your brain about what to get your distant family that you really don’t want to see right now. Christmas could mean you are expected to add a ton of extra things to your already overloaded plate. Speaking of plates, it gets to be quite the job to resist the ever appearing plate of sweets. For many, it is a reminder of how much you miss a loved one or wish you were not still single, barren or spending another holiday in a painful marriage pretending “it’s all good” again this year. You look around at all the glitter and happy facades and you’re reminded of a void that just gets illuminated in your heart over the holidays. Maybe you are thinking about v
August 30, 2011
Painful Metamorphosis
I shutter to share my deepest thoughts with you because I don’t want to upset you, but I was determined from the get-go to be authentic. (If you continue reading, and you are the type to fret, I sincerely ask that you stop right now and call upon God for His strength to transform every feeling of fear you have, into a prayer; otherwise you are not allowed to continue reading!) If you need a reminder about the unlessness of worry, please visit Please Pray for/ Worry About Me Charlotte’s Heart July 2011. Right now, the pain is pretty constant, sometimes it is so bad that I’d truly rather die than live with it any longer. I know that sounds dreadful, but it’s true. It seems indefinite at this point (at least until I have the whole kit and caboodle surgically removed on 9/20/11). I am however, headed to the doctor today to see if there is anything more/different we can do. I don’t think anyone really expected me to feel this way, but then again I am only the fifth person in
August 16, 2011
Cancer Hurts
It’s not the pain that hurts the most; it’s the little boy (<8) who doesn’t have any idea what it feels like for me to move around. He is innocently feeding my “feeling like a failure of a mother” with his lack of understanding, and yet I so don’t want him to understand. I can’t do a lot (I mean pretty basic tasks-not happening). People ask if I’m depressed and to a certain extent I am, I don’t feel a heavy cloud or anything, I just feel a bit sad and yet I am content where God has placed me. I still wouldn’t miss this opportunity for anything.
July 16, 2011
I Went Skydiving
As my life continues to unfold like the words of Tim McGraw’s song Live Like You Were Dying I find myself ebbing and flowing with emotions. Not with fear, like you might imagine, there has been very little fear at all, but more between the thoughts of “I can do this”, to “what if God has ordained this as a way to bring me home?” When I face the question of “What if?” I have the most incredible pat answer that never changes. God will provide! Jehovah Jireh is something I have repeated through the years, as I have trusted and watched God provide for all my needs.
July 11, 2011
Love Me Most, Know Me Least
Isn’t it the case, we love our children more than anyone else, yet others know them so much better? I had a woman stop me at church yesterday and tell me what an incredible person my son is. Of course I knew it, but she was referring to huge things he had handled in an impressive manner, which I had no idea existed. Of course she doesn’t love him the way I do, but perhaps she knows him better than I do. As I go through my beginning phase of cancer, I am beginning to recognize that those who love me the best know me the least. The most incredible support is coming from people that I may not recognize on the street (partially because I really stink at face recognition) but who know my heart, my interests and my core values. My friends have invested in me with their time and their presence, and my family has invested in me with unconditional love, that only a family can give. It is the same for my children and me; I don’t know that it is to be any other way.
