A Funny thing

A funny thing happened on my way to Perry, Ga. Perry Ga. is the site of a very large dog show at the Georgia State Fair grounds. People come from all over in RVs, Travel Trailers, Fifth-wheels, and campers because the grounds are so beautiful and there are plenty of places to plug-in your motorhome or whatever you have and enjoy camping out and showing you dogs. It has always been one of my favorite things to do if I have a motor home to stay in. This year, one of my good friends and a co-owner of one of my show dogs brought her RV, so there I was on Wednesday, making my way south, driving for seven hours to get down there, when the funny thing happened.

My phone rang. My phone rang and I looked at the caller ID and for a second fear gripped at me. The display showed the number for my oncologists's office. Uh-oh. Why would they be calling? Was there some test run on my blood that I didn't know about? What was wrong?
Had a patient I was close to lost the fight? All this ran through my mind in a span of about 2 seconds before I said "Hello." The funny thing was......it was nurse Jennifer, just calling to see how I was. She said she had been thinking about me and wanted to see how I was doing. She told me she gave a patient this blog address for encouragement. We chatted for a few minutes and I wished her a happy mother's day. I hung up the phone feeling a little foolish about my initial reaction to the phone call and the caller ID. I thought about her call the rest of the way to Perry and a lot over the past four days. Such a short, unexpected occurrance, with two huge significant blessings.

The first blessing I got from Jennifer's call was the realization that she and those around her
truly care about me, no matter where I am or what I happen to be doing. I am on a new course of treatment, will not be spending as much time with them as I have over the past two and 1/2 years. They could all just tuck me away in the backs of their minds because they have plenty to do, countless other patients to see every week or two, a world of intense medical care to walk into every day, and yet, on that Wednesday at some moment during her busy day, Jennifer thought of me. Something was said or done that made her think to pick up the phone and call me. As short of a call as it was, that gesture was filled with care and concern and love for me.
I am forever intertwined with them and they with me because God put us all together on this road, on this journey. A simple phone call made to me affirms that I am never going to be alone on the journey. Not only will God walk with me and my family and friends and Maha, but the rest of the girls are still up for the trip, still blessing me with their involvement in my life. We are forever woven together by the terrible thing that put me at that office. And as terrible as cancer may seem, the hidden blessings of battle continue to amaze me.

The second blessing of the phone call came toward the end of our conversation. I had been telling Jen that being out of treatment was a little scary, that I hoped I could take a nice long break from chemo, but the unkown was frightening. And she replied without hesitation. "Enjoy yourself," she said. "And if you need to come back, we'll all be here to take care of you." Wow. Such a simple statement. Such powerful words. Just like my God will always be there for me whenever I wander off and stumble back home, my angels will be waiting for me in Cary if need be. From the divine One to the back treatment room, my world, my journey, my walk is filled with people waiting to take care of me whenever I need it, no matter what the circumstances. After we hung up the phone, I had to ask myself....how can I even be scared a little bit. Love really does remove all fear.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear...." 1Jn 4:18