Our Favorite Housekeeper... And a lesson from the Bees

Just when you think you've gotten on top of all your cancer fears, another ugly concern raises red flags...

Let me back up and perhaps make some sense.

On August 5th, word came that Charlotte Rae had passed away from complications of pancreatic cancer.  Rae was best known for her role as the sassy housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett, in the sitcoms, Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life.

As celebrity news goes, her death just merited a brief passing nod... for me, however, the words pancreatic cancer sounded an alarm immediately.

It turns out that Charlotte Rae's family had a history of pancreatic cancer.  Her mother, an older sister and an uncle all had reportedly died from it.  So, due to the frequency of pancreatic cancer in her family, Charlotte was screened for it in 2009 and ultimately diagnosed with early stage cancer.

Charlotte underwent 6 months of chemotherapy and was declared cancer-free.

Unfortunately, it appears that the cancer metasticized and ended up in her bones.  She passed away at her home at the age of 92.

So, the ugly red flag?  The prickly ripple of unease I was feeling?

The family connection... Charlotte had lost 3 family members to the same cancer she herself fought.

Pancreatic Cancer.

Is it possible that having one family member with this cancer can increase our own risk?

Mom's pancreatic cancer diagnosis was a singular, nuclear event in our family.  Walking that road with her took all we had... Grieving her these past 6 years has been a monumental task in finding our new normal...

Never had I considered the implications of familial genetics in the cancer risk.

Pancreatic cancer does not play fair.  And perhaps we will never be free of the fear that it generates.

The kind of fear that keeps you up at night.  The dread that dogs your waking days.  The kind of panic with each unexpected twinge or pain.  Could it mean something?  Could it be a warning?  A sign?  Could pancreatic cancer be coming back to haunt our family in a new generation?

That kind of fear... it shuts down a heart.

The Farmer reminds me of the first time we worked with our Bees.  Our nerves nearly got the best of us...

The bees were literally boiling out of the box!  Like, Yikes!  It was all I could do not to turn and run for the hills...

But Byron, our beekeeping mentor, insisted the BeeKeeping suits were, well, Bee-Proof...

I'll let you in on a little secret... I didn't believe him (!)

Fear was on tap every single time we worked the bees... all summer long.  As the bees swarmed and buzzed us, we had to consciously choose to be calm and carry on... instead of swatting the heck out of this pesky, buzzing bees.

Guess what?!  Byron was right... the Beekeeping suits were Bee-Proof!

The only times we have gotten stung were the times we got complacent and "checked" the hives sans white gloves... {rookie mistakes}

And somewhere during those melting hot August hive checks, I realized that I was trusting the suit and ignoring the apprehensive shiver of bee sings... Fear was taking a back seat to the amazing work of those tiny little busy bees.  

Watching the honey-making process was fascinating... the buzzing of diminutive wings and the bumping of nosy little insects against our bee veils, these became a part of the sweet endeavor the honeybees added to our lives. 

The Farmer Husband was right... fear was overcome when we trusted the suits... and our lives were immeasurably bettered for it.

And I realized that the Beekeeping suit experience reminds us of the value of trust in the midst of soul-clenching fear.

The fear that pancreatic cancer might have a genetic component... the panic that pancreatic cancer may be waiting for another swipe at our family... at me...

Fear can and does swamp our failing hearts ... Trust in a Faithful God, that is the conscious choice, the value that cancels out Fear.

Faith in God's Sovereign Hand over our lives... whether or not the pancreatic cancer comes to call in our lives again.  His Hand holds us safe and leads us onward...

Karamchand Singh perhaps said it best,

"God seldom fixes our problems, but rather gives us the strength to face them."

Faith is the anecdote to Fear.

And Charlotte Rae faced her fears with confidence... and action.

She was a passionate Pancreatic Cancer champion.  She urged increased funding for pancreatic cancer research, "We must speak out loud and clear:  Federal funds must be invested to develop more effective treatments and to find a simple, affordable detection test.  This disease is so frightening because it cannot be detected early enough.  Effective treatments and early detection tools could save thousands and thousands of lives."

Said with the Faith that can move mountains, and more than enough Hope to stomp out Fear!