What Would You Do With This News?

I have not posted in a while and here is why. On November 4th, 2008, my dad, Ed Evans, was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. It is in stage 4 but the oncologist, my dad, mom and I are confident we can get it into remission. Talk about a life changing piece of news. So needless to say it has been a little crazy around here. I have 5 older siblings, but I am the one that lives the closest to my parents, and some of my siblings have taken the news harder than me. The relationships we have with people, regardless if they are family or not, can play a major roll in how someone might respond to news of this magnitude. 

So let me share with you this. When I tell my friends about my dad, the first thing out of their mouth is "Oh, I am so sorry." I think to myself, wow whenever people here the word "cancer" they automatically think the worst possible out come, death. Don't get me wrong, it is not good news, but I refuse to believe that all is lost. This is where my Faith comes in. Now you might not be religious, but with all the testing leading up to the final diagnosis, my faith in God helped me. So when my parents told me it was cancer, my first thought was "OK, what do we need to do to beat it?" My dad wants to fight and beat this so that is step number one. He tells everyone "I'm not sick, I just have cancer."

There are no accidents in life, and before the diagnosis was made, I had a retreat at my church. It is called CHRP Weekend. I had known about the retreat for some time but did not decide to attend until the night before. I kept hearing this voice tell me to go, I ignored it as much as I could but Friday night it was so loud. I said to my husband, I need to go and do this, I can't tell you why, I just need to go. So at 8PM that evening I called Melodie, and I said I will be there tomorrow morning. This was the weekend of October 18/19. My Uncle Eric died on October 18, 2008 from lung cancer, my dad and Uncle Eric shared the same birthday. 

I arrived Saturday morning at 8AM and when I arrived, I was greeted by warm smiles, open arms and then they asked for my cell phone and watch. I was no longer on my time, but God's time. You might think, you could not give up those things, but the whole experience was amazing. There were seventeen other ladies going through the experience with me and one of the ladies at my table is an oncologist. You might not believe in God or have faith, but why do you think two weeks before the diagnosis of my dad's lung cancer, I met and bonded with another woman at this special weekend, renewing my faith in God, who just happens to be the type of doctor my father needs? I learned to let go and let God.

As far as I am concerned, there are no coincidents, accidents, or freaky holy shit moments. Everything happens for a reason, but we do not always know why. The possibility of my dad dying is real and my relationship with my dad is incredible. When he goes, hopefully it is in 2-10 years, he will be joining our Holy Father and will be at peace. Dying is apart of living and for now it is a day by day event. Live like you were dying has a whole new meaning.

The biggest reason my dad is fighting is his grandkids. My son, Owen (who will be 4 next month) wants to turn his room into a doctors office so granddad can come and stay and get better. My daughter, Ava (who will be 3 in January) thinks that granddad's cough comes from his feet and she says we need to make granddad's feet better. Owen and Ava are grandkids number 10 & 11. Since we live the closest to Granddad and Grandma we get to see them all of the time. Owen and my dad have a special bond no one will ever understand and for that I am grateful. 

As for my home based business and Mentoring For Free, I am thankful for having them. I can work when I can and help my dad and mom whenever they need it. I am also thankful for my mentor Rob Kenyon. He has been a great support to me and my family. Rob has helped me in so many ways, words could never express just how special he is to me. He is a true friend, everyone should have a Rob Kenyon in their lives. I have been surrounded by support, prayers, and unconditional love and this is essential in keeping my faith growing and strong.

It is going to be a battle every step of the way and we are all prepared to fight. There are going to be good days and bad days but every day is a blessing. I hope you will think about the relationships you have with your family and friends. Are you the Rob Kenyon someone needs or are you the Bridget Lee that is blessed with unconditional love from all of your relationships? Maybe you are both? If it was not for my faith in God, my family and my friends this would be much more difficult to deal with. My husband, Mike, has been through this experience with his father. Mike's dad died of colon cancer in 1995, so it is comforting to me that he has an idea of what might be expected. My dad had his first round of chemotherapy and radiation yesterday so from here on out, hopefully it will be good news to post.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and to all that celebrate it have an extra special day. Be thankful for every day you have with your loved ones. Try to make each and every day a blessing, even if you think that it is a day from hell. God's grace is there, you just need to look for it. God's grace could be as small and simple as a smile from a stranger when you feel stressed out from your daily grind. 

With our feet on earth and our hearts in heaven, God Bless,

Bridget Lee