Celebrating the power of gratitude, this little book packs a punch. There is an encouraging thought for each day of the year and with each inspiring message, the light of hope grows brighter.
Hope. It has been the theme of our lives since cancer hi-jacked our journey... for the Giving of Thanks alone has buried the despair and birthed a Hope that has carried us through the dark.
The 365 Days of Gratitude project has been so timely in my own life. I need these daily reminders that we all have much to give thanks for. And this isn't some Pollyanna kind of excessively cheerful, overly optimistic thanks-giving. It's in the trenches, gritting your teeth, staring down death, where do you find hope here, giving-thanks-is-a-choice kind of gratitude.
It is steadfast resolve. It is hard. And it is the only way to navigate the dark. When we choose gratitude over despair, it lights the way for the next step... And don't we all need some light when our path is hard? Perhaps the words and message might offer hope for your journey as well. It is my prayer for you, no matter where this night finds you... don't give up. There is Hope, and Life, and Grace for our days in the Thanksgiving.
Celebrating 365 Days of Gratitude is available now on Amazon.
How do you even
breathe after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis?
The mind and heart can shut right down when this cancer comes to shatter your life. We know. It can be a living nightmare... an all-consuming darkness that threatens to extinguish any light of hope.
If pancreatic cancer has touched your life in some way, then perhaps our book, Finding Grace in the Shadow Valley, will offer hope as you journey.
It is the story of our walk into the dark pit of a terminal cancer diagnosis and the Grace that carried us through...
In November of 2010, cancer interrupted our very comfortable, extremely ordinary lives with a vengeance when our mom was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer. I believe it was the moment our Shadow Valley walk began.
Finding Grace is written as a
diary of sorts… the day to day battles, the difficult decisions, the
roller-coaster ride of a cancer treatment… we share our heart, the emotional
questions, the hard answers.
We also recount the joy and grace that surrounded us
in the midst of the terrifying darkness.
This is the story
of Finding Grace in the midst of a cancer diagnosis and the way it changes how
we live out our stories.
If you are
wondering what it is like to walk this valley road, if you are desperate to
find hope for yourself or a loved one, we pray this book will offer a light for your
path.
We are humbled to
know that mom’s story has resonated with so many. Perhaps it is as one reader so aptly put, “It
is good to know that I am not alone.”
Yes, It is
good to know we are not alone. We are
walking hand in hand, taking a journey together that none of us wish to
take. Never doubt that Grace walks that
road too, each and every step, right alongside us.
Finding Grace… it
is what makes facing those horrific days possible.
And it brings Hope
to the Shadow Valley every. single. time.
His health has declined, the COPD has worsened, the heart has weakened. We have rallied around him, time and time again.
My brothers and I have worried, we have prayed, oh, how we have prayed, we have struggled, we have cried...
More and more the work of helping dad has fallen on me. His doctor visits, his weekly infusions, his errands... settling him in to the Assisted Living Center... listening to his frustrations...over and over again...
And the truth is... Dad is getting weaker, and more critical and more difficult to deal with week to week. He rails at the changes that fate (and pancreatic cancer) have brought to his life. Losing mom is a hurt that we can't heal...
We have learned that Pancreatic Cancer doesn't just affect the patient... the collateral damage we've all experienced has been brutal.
So many times we have whispered into the darkness, if only mom were still here.
If only she had been spared, she would be here loving him, caring for him... and he would be so content... the broken heart a grief he would never experience.
But we are now the caretakers and he is far from content.
Collateral Damage. We are walking through the minefield of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis and the aftermath of its vicious assault.
I love him utterly and my soul weeps over the changes we are all facing... the words fail me.
This weekend past we traveled north to visit family and while channel surfing the radio as the miles sped by, a song crackled to life that ministered truth... and amazingly it was a country music station... go figure!
Thank you Dierks Bentley... you may never have imagined your romantic ballad could speak to our hurting hearts and encourage this daughter to stay the course...
It's a long trip alone...
No one should ever have to travel this journey alone. Lyrics that turn the bitter to sweet...
So maybe you could walk with me awhile,
Maybe I could rest beneath your smile.
Everybody stumbles sometimes and needs a hand to hold,
'Cause it's a long trip alone."
Pancreatic cancer can leave scars, can tear the heart, but it can never sever the love.
I hear the echo of scripture for this journey...
"For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow;
but woe to him that is alone when he falleth,
and who hath not another to lift him up!"
~ Eclesiastes 4:10
Maybe we could walk together for awhile and lift each other up...
Resting beneath your smile
and reaching out a hand to hold as we travel this road.
