A Cause for Celebration!

My first bald photo back in 2008!

When I first started writing this blog in 2008, I did so with purpose and passion. My original plan was to keep family and friends informed about how life was as a cancer patient. I can't recall who suggested I start blogging about my journey - hence the name (My Journey.) But it surely was a jolly good idea. Tomorrow will be the fourth anniversary of my first blog. My debut post was on Friday, August 1st, 2008. Here is a snippet from the beginning...

The good news is that I am now half way through my chemotherapy. This entire cancer issue has changed our lives in a dramatic way. No one ever knows what is around the corner so if I had to offer some advice, it would be to love your family unconditionally...hold them close if you can or make sure you keep in touch; pray and trust God for the big things and the details and talk to Him regularly; pursue your dreams and make sure you forgive with fervor, laugh without restraint and dance whenever your heart wants.

I actually like that advice about forgiving, laughing and dancing. And it's probably something we should do whether afflicted or not.

When I wrote that post I had no clue that I would still be here four years later. I rejoice. God is so good. But you know what? Even if I wasn't here, God would still be good. I am slowly coming to terms that I need to come to terms with life and death. We all live. We all die. I just read in my Bible last evening, in Philippians 1:12 - Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. Paul was speaking about how he was going through a difficult situation but he remained strong because it would help further the gospel. Verse 22 goes on to say: If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! Paul knew. He knew that heaven was a better place, but he also felt he had work to do. It's not up to us whether we live or die. Pain and suffering can be a platform to share. That's what I want my life to be.

The butterfly danced in my garden! Perfect symmetry! 

God has taught me much these past four years. He has introduced situations, experiences and moments of realization. He has put special people in my life. He has taught me how to be very still and to trust Him in ALL situations. He has shown mercy and grace. He has chastised and forgiven. I know without a doubt that there is a God. He is mighty to save and desires all of His children - His beloved creation - to come to Him - heavy laden or otherwise.

I took a picture of a butterfly dancing around my garden the other day. As I tried my best to get a good shot, I found myself really focusing on the tiny winged creature. The beauty in the perfectly painted petal wings. The splendid colours and the arrangement of pattern. The attraction of insect to flower. A bee joined the party as I was snapping one picture after another. I watched them both interact and dance around the flower bed. How? I mused. How can anyone say such loveliness is born out of blackness and a big bang of randomness scattered thusly to achieve perfection?

I don't have all the answers. I actually have a million questions. But I choose to believe, to trust, to rejoice, to give thanks and to love. When I do that, I have that perfect peace that really and truly does passeth all understanding.

Your Turn Next!

One of the wonderful things about the blogsphere is the way networks and interconnections form spontaneously. To help us all to get to know one another, bloggers have been interviewing one another. My interview follows; then it is my turn to interview any other bloggers who would like to be interviewed by me :D

I was interviewed by two people, actually- a mother/daughter team who have some really neat photo blogs. Anja Noordam is 'Mom' http://anja-photojournal.blogspot.com/ and her delightful daughter is Olga http://o-photojournal.blogspot.com/

So here is my interview conducted by Anja and Olga (Pictured above, by the Sea of Galilee):

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What was the first thing you wrote that was published, and what did you like best about the piece? The first thing I ever wrote that was published was an article in a contest that I entered through the Bruce County library. It was in 1984 and was titled, "Daisy, Daisy, Give me Your Answer Do..." It was a story about an elderly nursing home resident who was placed in a nursing home following her stroke. Daisy was aphasic (unable to speak) and paralyzed on her left side. I wrote this looking through the frustrated eyes of Daisy. I had a patient many years ago named Florence. I loved Florence, although many thought her crusty and a complainer. I wrote this in her honour and I tried to step inside her shoes and tell others her story. The story was eventually published in a local newspaper and I received some pretty good reviews. It was after this that I felt God nudge me and He whispered that He had given me a gift and I was to use it for His glory. I suppose I thought obeying God was a good plan - thus started my writing career.

You've always seemed to have a flair for the dramatics. Tell us a bit about this artistic passion.
When I was a wee lass in Scotland I played Mary in the school play. I was smitten. I had other roles in school plays over the years, but the one I remember the most was when I got to play Miss Europe and had to wear a bag over my head (the nuclear explosion, you know.) I always gravitated towards drama in church and loved to help write or direct or perform, or a bit of all. When I first came to Drayton 24 years ago, there was a call out for actors for the Drayton Community Players. I signed up and got the lead role in “A Funny Kind of Day,” playing opposite Ron Fletcher! I think I got the part because of my British accent – it was a British farce. I loved it and many of us had a special bond. I stayed with the Community Players until they folded years later. Once I started attending Drayton Reformed Church, I got involved wherever I could with drama. In 1997 Yvonne Timmerman and I created the Master’s Voice Players (MVPs). Those days can never be replaced. In fact, Olga, the young lady who interviewed me for this, was a shy young lass when she first joined the MVPs. She blossomed into one of our sweetest and most faithful actors. She was the only one who was with us from the beginning and lasted right till the time we closed our MVP curtain. Ah, yes. The good old days.


What do you enjoy doing most when you get together with family? We love to have a meal together and then just play. We sometimes play board games, or card games or Guitar Hero (they love to take videos of me doing this) or sometimes we just enjoy chattering or going through photo albums. I adore my family and count my blessings every day.

You seem to enjoy gardening. When would you consider a plant to be a weed? I love dandelions. I get so upset with people who make it their springtime mission to zap all the yellow sunshines from a lawn. I am very forgiving of weeds, actually and as long as they don't strangle my other plants and try hard to be colourful then I will consider them a flower. I really don't like weeds in my vegetable garden, though. Everything in that area needs to be eaten, so if you interfere with my sustenance then you are a weed and need to be spanked.

What has God taught you most through your journey? Well here is my invitation to write a book. Where do I begin? I am assuming by the term 'my journey' you are referring to my cancer. It has been life changing, to say the least. If I had to summarize I would perhaps present my answer like this:
I have learned to trust God more and move beyond the trivial.
I have learned to value the love of family and friends and accept the things I cannot change.
I have learned to let go of my stubborn 'I can do it myself' attitude and realize that when others help, it is a heart gift.
I have learned to laugh more and grumble less.
I have learned the joy of communing with Jesus and letting Him soothe my soul when I am frightened.
I have learned that marriage vows are real and the 'in sickness and in health' part is not a joke
I have learned to dance when I feel like it; wearing pyjamas are okay during the day; and if the dishes don't get done, nobody dies.
I have learned that hair grows back and vanity is fleeting
I have learned that people love me for who I am inside, not what I look like on the outside.
I have learned that cancer cannot destroy my faith or ruin my marriage.
I have learned that family is a gift.
I have learned the important lesson of paying forward.

I have learned that God is perfectly in control and when I doubt that for even a moment, He sends an angel to remind me.

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Here are the instructions if you wish to be interviewed by me:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me".

2. I will respond by e-mailing you five questions (I get to pick the questions)

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.I will post a list of those who have agreed to an interview so everyone can follow along. Now it's my turn to interview any other bloggers who would like to be interviewed by me. :-) I'm going to keep a list up here of the names and blogs of every brave soul who volunteers, so we all can follow along. Please check out their blogs to see the wonderful things they have created!