ALWAYS THERE: June 2013

God's timing is perfect, absolutely flawless. The past few weeks my family has been speaking with the doctors from St. Jude and we finally settled on a date for us to travel to Houston. The doctors at M.D. Anderson have asked that I arrive in Houston on July 1st. I will stay at M.D. Anderson for a few days, head back to Memphis for about a week, then return again to Houston for my surgery. When I found out that I would have to wait until July 1st, I was very disappointed and confused. I thought "so you're going to tell me that there is something in my body that doesn't belong there but make me wait a whole month before anyone decides to do anything about it"? My mom and I wanted to go to Houston as soon as possible to get everything taken care of, but we soon found out the reasoning behind my "month of waiting". My grandmother (my mom's mother) was sick with a fever for a couple of weeks and we did not think much about it because we assumed it was only a virus. After a couple of weeks of the fever not improving, my grandmother went to the hospital and discovered that she had a tumor on her colon that had ruptured. The surgery was extremely complicated, but the doctor was able to remove all of the tumor! Such a blessing! She will start chemo in a couple of months because the doctors want her to be able to heal before they start anything else. My Mimi is so strong and I was blown away by her perspective and attitude during her two week stay at the hospital. It was such an encouragement to see the way she handled her situation and I am so thankful that I was reminded how important your attitude and faith is before I leave for Houston. It is very easy to doubt God's timing and every single time I do, I am reminded that everything is planned out perfectly. I was asked to wait here because The LORD wanted me to witness Him working through my grandmother and providing her strength. In doing this I was reminded that He is capable of providing me strength and calming my fears. It is going to be pretty scary going to a new hospital and not having my friends or doctors there, but once again I have the privilege of learning to depend on the LORD. There is no reason to worry or question God because his plan for his children is without flaw, and what a relief that is! I am so relieved that my life is planned out by the Creator of the Universe. Please keep my grandmother and my mother in your prayers. On a lighter note... the hospital asked me and Luis to paint a canvas together that would eventually hang in the Chili's Care Center (this is the side of the hospital where scans take place). We were so excited to have been given this opportunity and we tried our best to incorporate things that we both enjoy into the picture. Many of you might not know our story, but we became such great friends by singing and playing guitar for the other patients at the hospital. It was such a blessing to be able to share our joy with the other patients through music and we are so thankful that we were given the opportunity to share our joy through our artwork. So of course, we incorporated music into our painting! We were at the hospital yesterday and they told us they finally hung up the paintings. Hopefully we will be able to go and see them next week! Although this was not how I expected to spend my summer, I know that I am just given more opportunities for the LORD to work in my life and reveal Himself in ways that I have never seen before. I read this in my devotional book a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was quite beautiful...

"Is it raining little flower?

Be glad of rain;

Too much sun would wither one;

It will shine again.

The clouds are very dark, it's true;

But just behind them shines the blue.

Are you weary tender heart?

Be glad of pain:

In sorrow, sweetest virtues grow,

As flowers in rain.

God watches, and you will have sun,

When clouds their perfect work have done."