Sunday, April 6, 2008

I AM

I was looking for "The Lord is My Light."


But, also found this which was powerful to me.



Added: I just wanted to add a little update onto why I was looking for these songs. It is now the end of May and everything has been resolved so it feels good to finally share a little of what was going on.

In December my Uncle Ernie passed away from a heart attack. It was very unexpected and we were all in shock. This cemented in my Grandma's heart that it was time to move home (to IL). A month after listing their house my Grandma found a lump in her breast and further testing showed that it was in fact breast cancer. I found this out the same week that the final draft of my thesis was due. My Mom and Aunt flew out to AZ to be with her. We found out that she was to have the surgery the next week to have the lump removed. On a positive note, the day after they found out that the lump was cancerous my Grandparents got an offer on their house and they immediately accepted.

While my mom was down there I expressed concern to her over how similar this situation was to the one a few years earlier where we lost two aunts and my Grandma and Grandpa on my Dad's side in such a short time. It included my Aunt passing away from an unexpected heart attack and my Grandparents moving in with my parents. My Mom acknowledged that she had also seen the similarities and that she had been afraid to mention it. We were all scared we were losing Grandma.

That Sunday I had my Grandma on my mind and as I was getting ready for church was singing "The Lord is My Light." When I got into church I decided to talk the priest and I asked for a special prayer to be said. When I sat down to service I realized that the same song I was singing was the song that we were singing in church. It was also part of the word for the day. It just helped to remind me to trust in the Lord as he will provide.

My Grandma had the surgery the next Thursday. I kept myself busy with a party on Friday night at the place where I volunteer and then a get together with friends the next night (Fondue, yum!). On Monday we got word that the cancer was all out and she would not need radiation or chemo. My Mom and Aunt found a way to have my grandparents sign their closing papers early and they flew out two weeks after the surgery.

They are currently living with my parents, but have found a condo to buy. My Grandma is doing better in most ways, but still is in a lot of pain. I defended my thesis the day before my Grandparents moved to IL and I left on a short vacation the day after they moved. I've now submitted my final corrected version (three copies on fancy resume paper) and am just waiting for my diploma to be mailed.

There have been many happy weeks with everyone together. This last Mothers Day was the first one in about 10 years that we have been able to all be together. There were a lot of tears shed. Grandpa is feeling guilty for having ever moved to AZ while at the same time missing many things about it. When I had my blog open to show my grandma some of my sewing creations my Mom wanted me to show her the videos I found as well. My Grandpa heard it and came running. It was funny.

It's been great reconnection with my grandparents and really feeling their love again. We are all grateful to have this time together and realize that we must cherish each an every opportunity to share in each others company.