We were sitting in the waiting room at the hospital waiting to see Daddy in recovery after he had the cancer removed and his insides rearranged. The two months that followed were two of the most difficult of my short life, and I'm pretty sure that the rest of my family would say something similar. Today, looking back I am so grateful for the friends and family who came alongside us and held us up on many of those days. We are acutely aware of God's grace in allowing Daddy to be here celebrating with us today. And he's not just "here" -- he's active, back to his usual activities and working on new projects. His garden looks better than it has in years. He's learning new programs on his new computer (although I don't think blogging is on his list yet). He's back to making BBQ -- to everyone's delight. He gets down on the floor and plays with the girls. He goes to "the spa" almost daily (his words -- otherwise known as the gym), and has actually gained back some muscle.
This time last year, I could not envision this day -- I struggled to hope for this day and believe that it could happen. Even now I wrestle with why God has allowed Daddy to beat the statistics (which are horrendous, by the way) and we have lost other friends and family so suddenly and unexpectedly in the past year -- even the past week. Don't get me wrong -- I am so very thankful to have this time with my Dad, and for my girls to know him and make more memories, but I am also aware that this is purely the result of God's grace, not a result of anything we have or haven't done -- our family does not deserve this, it is a gift from God. So...
Praise God for allowing us this time with Daddy. Praise God for teaching us and carrying us through the past year. Praise God for His church, family, and friends who are like family. Thank you for all your encouraging words and prayers over the past year and a half!
Here are a couple of recent pictures...
