8-19-12

Anniversaries...something that we celebrate every year.

This one is no different.

Today I am celebrating life and the opportunity I have been blessed with to continue living it.

It was exactly one year ago today that I wrote this post, telling you about my cancer diagnosis.

It was a day filled with sadness, uncertainty, worry, and dread.

Now, by the grace of a loving Heavenly Father, I get to write this post telling you that for the moment I am cancer free and we did it!  We beat this cancer just like we said we would from the very beginning.

I still have 2 surgeries left and will have to take medication every day for the next 5 years to keep the cancer from coming back...but now I can start getting back on track.

Although, it's a very different track then the one that I was on, and that's a really good thing.

I have learned so many lessons over the past year.  My eyes have been opened to things that really matter in this life.  Not that I had a bad life or was making bad choice before.  I was just blessed to see that there are so many better choices I can be making.

There is a wonderful talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, an apostle of Jesus Christ.  It is entitled

Good, Better, Best

If you get a chance, you should read it.  He talks about the exact lesson I have learned this year.  We can fill our lives with so many good things, but there will never be enough time to do all of the "good" things that we want to do.  That is when we should seek out the best things in life and focus on those things.

For me those "best" things include 

*time with my family

*time spent in studying my scriptures 

*time spent serving others

 *time at the temple

I will never be perfect at any of these things...at least not in this life.  But I am going to spend the rest of my days doing the best that I can and knowing that is all my Heavenly Father expects me to do, my very best.

If I do the very best that I can do, then I can utilize the Savior's atonement in my life to make up the difference.  That is why He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and died on the cross.  So that we can have the opportunity to make mistakes, to repent and be forgiven, and to try again.

As I start my new journey on this different track I will still have battles to face.

I am so tired.

It's been a long year and my body has been through a lot.

Each day seems to be a little bit better.  I know that it will take a while for me to build up my strength and stamina.  I probably will never have my "pre-cancer" energy, but every time I complete a task that I haven't done for a while...I take that as a small victory...and then I take a nap. ;)

Before I end this post, I have to say Thank You.

I wish I could thank everyone individually who has offered a prayer in my behalf, sent positive thoughts my way, brought us a meal, taken me to lunch, cleaned my house, sent me flowers, taken me to a doctor's appointment, or has simply just given me a hug.  All of these things and so many more.  I will forever be grateful that I have been blessed with so many amazing people in my life who have loved me through this journey.