My life is a bit like the weather in Texas. If I don’t like it, I only have to wait a second and it’ll change. One thing is for certain, everything changes. Strange as it may seem, that fact gives me a certain amount of comfort. How we navigate through the seasons in our lives says a great deal about who we are and where we are in our faith journeys. We recognize the seasons, learn from the experiences, and find hope in the fleeting nature of our problems.
I’m on the far end of my fifties now. I’ve been married to the same man for twenty-eight years. We have two children, two grandchildren, and two cats. In November of last year, I was diagnosed with primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), a chronic degenerative disease on the ALS spectrum, but not fatal. I decided I would retire at the end of January after twenty-two years as a public relations manager and devote myself full time to writing fiction. I could no longer perform the duties of my job that included coordinating special events in San Antonio’s city parks. I needed to learn how to work within my new,
unexpected disabilities which have no effect on my ability to write fiction—my true life’s vocation.
For the past ten years I’ve written Christian fiction, mostly Amish romances. It’s been a wonderful experience and I longed to write full time. To give my full attention to what I believe to be my true calling, the use of this writing gift from God for his glory. Surely that was his intent. God must’ve chuckled a little bit at my puny attempts to order my life in a way that makes sense to me.
On January 8, I had a biopsy that showed metastatic cancer in lymph nodes near my diaphragm. On January 13, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. On January 19, I entered the hospital to start chemotherapy. On January 20, I spent my fifty-eighth birthday completing that first treatment and being released to begin my new life as a cancer fighter.
This was not how I planned to spend my retirement. Now, five months later, my husband Tim has had quadruple bypass heart surgery quite unexpectedly. This is not how we planned to spend our later years together.
But this is the season of our lives in which we find ourselves. I don’t know why. I only know that this season has brought me a multitude of reasons to be thankful. We are blessed with great insurance. We are blessed with fantastic medical care. My husband is a walking medical miracle, up and around only four days after open heart surgery. By the grace of God, my cancer has responded well to chemotherapy. I have a wonderful church family that has surrounded us with prayer and agape love.
I don’t know what the future will bring. I only know what God’s word tells me. In this world, we will have trouble, but we can cast our cares upon Him. “But I trust in you, O’Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’” (Psalm 31:24)
As this season passes, I know I’ll have new experiences and from those experiences, garner new knowledge. Joy will return. Peace will abound. I know because God tells me so through his word.
Through this blog, I look forward to sharing those experiences and hearing about the seasons of your lives. I love hearing from readers so feel free to join in this conversation and we’ll share this season.
Where two or more are gathered, He will be found.
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