Day of Encouragement

"Life is hard sometimes- Crazy, mixed-up, messed-up. And there you are, in the middle of it all, just doing your thing... being strong and brave and beautiful like it's no big deal.

But let me tell you, girl, it is. Not everyone can do what you do. Not everyone can handle things the way you can. While you wonder sometimes if you're doing OK... The rest of us are just watching in WONDER."


"Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24 NASB

This the text from a card I got free from a blog that I follow. The ladies over at (in)courage held a giveaway where all you had to do was send them your address and be one of the first 500 to do it, and you got a free pack of cards! I sent in because the one they had advertised on the website is the one with the text and link you see above. I knew it was just perfect for a lady from my church.

Jodi had Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the blood. MM is a cancer without a cure, all the doctors are able to do is put the patients in a remission and then monitor the cancer and wait with baited breath. Jodi has been absolutely amazing in it all.

MM is similar to Hodgkin's, which I had, in the sense that it's a cancer of the fluids of the body, and is treated most frequently with an autologous bone marrow transplant. I went through this procedure myself.

Because of this shared experience, I've had some idea of what Jodi is going through, although her experience itself was rougher than mine. Anyway, one of the things that stuck out to me about how others rallied around me during my treatment was one friend of my mom's in particular who made sure to send me funny cards. When you're in the middle of it, nice, thoughtful cards are nice but they all say the same thing. The thought is what counts, of course, but I loved those funny cards most of all. The ones that managed to be funny AND poignant were amazing, of course. 

So this card, funny AND poignant, is exactly what I've been trying hard to send to Jodi as she walks this most difficult road. I thank Dayspring and (in)courage for the opportunity to send it to her. It's written out, signed, and will, wonderfully, be in her church mailbox ON National Day of Encouragement! How great is that? What a great idea this was.