Courage, Strength, Faith, and a Smile

And off we go!

3 days of driving ahead from the southern most US to the northern most.

Santa Fe to Seattle.

The generous Miss Dallas will tend to our home, water our plants.

Pat will once again host our Kylie dog.

What a gift to have friends that have become family.

The timing of our trip is to be in Washington

for our sister-in-love's surgery on Monday.

Cindy is one of the bravest I know.

~2 and a half years ago she had a most extensive surgery 

for ovarian cancer.

The treatment and recovery took a painful year of her life

to get through.

~Last January she had surgery

on a benign brain tumor

that took her hearing in one ear and

had the potential to take her sight in one eye as well.

A painful recover followed.

~Monday she will have a double mastectomy

since she has the BRAC gene and 

will be at high risk if she doesn't.

Cindy has been through it the past few years.

She is so brave.

Cindy herself would ask you

What choice does she have.

Of course she has been brave,

And angry

And terrified

And frustrated

And in pain

And so many other emotions all rolled into one.

I see how brave she is.

Not all who face even one of the challenges she has faced

handle it with the courage she has.

Some turn to unhealthy fixes.

Some lose the life they are afraid of losing

because of those choices.

Cindy has continued to live life with her family and friends

even when she wasn't feeling 100% or even 20%.

Facebook has been filled with smiling pictures

of her camping with her family~

with and without hair!

After each new surgery or health challenge,

she couldn't wait to get back to her students at 

the elementary school where she loves on kids.

Courage

Grace

Positive Attitude

and her never ending smile

Are her gifts to us.

Family,

Friends,

and her faith

are the gifts 

that allow her to face each 

new hurdle.

Her husband Paul and her two girls,

Brianna and Amber

are her motivation to get

back to life again and again.

They are her strength, her heart, and her loves.

Please be with us in prayer for Cindy 

as she takes one more step toward health and a cancer-free life

on Monday.

In Him,

Joyful

7-7-16
https://bible.org/seriespage/1-faith-hard-times-jam-11-8-includes-audio-message
https://bible.org/seriespage/1-faith-hard-times-jam-11-8-includes-audio-messag