May God Bless you every day of your life!
Letter to self – recap of the past 10 years:
2008 – In July you were turning 65 when you were diagnosed with a
rare terminal Cancer that had metastasized. After much soul searching
and prayers you made the decision to stop treatment. You turned your
life over to God. You sold your condo, got rid of all the material things
that no longer meant anything to you, and set your affairs in order to
include funeral arrangements. You chose quality of life over quantity
of life.
When you quit treatment and refused further treatment the doctors
were upset and most discharged you immediately. To date they cannot
explain why you are still alive so they do not use the term “in remission”
– they will only say it is “not active”. Oh well, it is just terminology and
you know that the glory belongs to our one and only Savior Jesus Christ.
You moved into low income senior housing that was run by Franciscan
Ministries. Nine years later you are still living there. Many things have
changed but you are hanging in there and making the best of it and
continue to trust God.
After your second surgery you continued to refuse treatment. The
surgeon was angry and informed you that your God cannot do
everything. I loved your response to her – “Then you don’t know my God.”
2013 - In July you celebrated God’s goodness by showing you that your
life was not finished here on earth and you were to continue doing His
work. You threw yourself a beautiful birthday party with about 90 family
members and friends in attendance. God gave you a few more years than
diagnosed and you turned 70 years old.
After being diagnosed you had to give up working while going through
two major surgeries. After sitting around for about 5 years it was time
to get back in the swing of things and you were offered a position with
Dayspring Villa Assisted Living as Life Enrichment Associate for 18 hours
a week. That has been perfect for you.
2018 – You have said all along that you were going to retire when you
turned 75. Well plans do change and I guess you have decided to go PRN
instead, reducing your hours from 18 to 4 a week. You just cannot give up
your Bible Study on Wednesday afternoon and Church Service on Saturday
evenings. Grace Church of Arvada supplied Dayspring and your group with
a 62 inch Smart TV so that your elders could watch the service live-stream
on Saturday evenings. Grace is a non-denominational service at
5 pm held in the community room. Mass is at 3 pm in the dining room.
There are church services for elders that want to attend. It is obvious that
you love doing God’s work. Such exciting times for you. God has blessed
you beyond measure and you continue to be thankful. No party this time
but I am sure you will celebrate God’s love in your own way. In fact
something has come up. You will be celebrating with your Bible Study
group. You have your quarterly lunch on your birthday. Perfect!
You will turn 75.
You still have your medical challenges like most people of your age but
so far you are able to handle them as they come along. In October when
you had the pulmonary emboli, both lungs, the doctors ordered a PET scan
to check on the Cancer before they would treat you - all was clear.
Thank you once again Lord.
The Bible verse, your favorite, that gets you through each and every day:
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the Lord,”
plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.”
My "Thank You" to everyone who has prayed for me and offered
encouragement over the years. I pray for each of you as I read your posts
on Facebook. Much Love to all of you and to my 28 nieces and nephews
plus a new baby one the way in December 2018.
Katherine, Kathy Jo, Kathy, Kate
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