Are you ever prepared?

....to help your sister grieve the news of a dear friend's cancer diagnosis?

My sister Deb has a dear friend from work. They've been working together on and off for the last 9 years. Her friend is more than just a co-worker. They are truly friends, brought together by their jobs. Her friend is 31 years old, has a 4.5 year son, an almost 2 year old daughter and a precious baby boy in utero at 28 weeks gestation. And this week she's been given the diagnosis of breast cancer. It's really the unthinkable. Did I really hear her right when she told me over the phone through sobs so loud I barely made out "cancer" in her words?

The good news in all this is that apparently there are some chemotherapy drugs that are safe for women in their second and third trimesters. Praise God! So she will begin with chemo to reduce the size of the mass and then have surgery to remove it. She will have a c-section to deliver her precious boy at either 30 or 34 weeks. Her co-workers have rallied around her like nobody's business.

But still....the colds/fevers/chills that left me and Caleb feeling like we've been run over by trucks these last few days pale in comparison to what lays ahead for my sister's dear friend. Would walking out to the mailbox seem so unsurmountable for me if my future didn't look so bright? Heck no. I would live every day to the fullest.

I have to keep asking myself if this is really happening. Then I resign myself to the fact that it is and begin praying so hard for everybody in her family. Every day in our lives is a gift from God, precious and to be treasured. We all should be living each day as if it were our last. We are never guaranteed tomorrow. Anyway, would you please join me in praying for this family as they nagivate their new normal? Thanks so much. Still stunned..........