Some Days are Diamonds

When I woke up last Thursday morning I felt good.  Not 100% good, but essentially pain free and anxiety free, for the first time since this whole journey with breast cancer began.  And from there, the day just kept getting better and better.  When I took a shower, I was able to use both hands to wash my hair.  This was the first time since my initial surgery that I had the range of motion in my left arm for my hand to reach my head.  If you have ever tried to wash your hair with only one hand, you realize this was a small but meaningful victory!

That day a package arrived in the mail from my cousin (okay, first cousin once removed) Karen Nelson.  Inside was a beautiful prayer shawl that had been handmade by her mom, Jeannine Rusinko, wife of my first cousin Deane Rusinko.  Karen is a cancer survivor and spoke from experience in her note when saying, “The road won’t be fun, but I know that you have a huge support network and it really does help.  Trust God will provide you with all you need for journey – a helping hand, a card in the mail, a compassionate health care worker and much needed hug.”

It also contained the following blessing:

Prayer Shawl Blessing

May you feel God’s warm embrace

as you wrap this prayer shawl around you.

May you experience the comfort,

strength and love of God,

encircling you in good times,

as well as difficult times.

May you be

lifted up in hope

surround by joy,

graced with peace and

wrapped in love.

Please know that you

are being remembered in prayer and love.

 . . . the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

Psalm 107:1

Lord of life Lutheran Church

Maple Grove, Minnesota

This blog is not the platform for me to venture off on my scattered thinking on faith, but I will simply say I believe in a whole lot of things that I cannot touch in the physical world.  I believe in the sacred within every living being, and when others pray for me and send me healing thoughts, I believe I am stronger for the journey ahead.  And, I know when I wrap that prayer shawl around me, I will feel surrounded by the love and support of family, friends, and all that is ineffable but still very real to me.

Thursday evening I felt well enough to attend the final dress rehearsal for the Gustavus Dance Company’s 25^th Anniversary Concert.  Though I rested a lot in between, I also felt well enough to attend every performance the next three days.  And it was glorious.  In addition to my current students, 27 alumni returned to campus to perform in a special closing dance called “25”. Over the course of the weekend, numerous other alumni, friends and colleagues attended the performance.  I got to connect with so many people who are important to me.  At some point, I will need to write more about that concert and everything I experienced, but for now I just want to point out that the reason I have not posted anything to this blog for a while is because I was too busy having fun.

Tomorrow is the 15^th Anniversary of the devastating tornado that hit St. Peter, MN. In reflecting back on that event, city administrator Todd Prafke wrote, “As others rushed to our aid that night and in the weeks that followed, we learned how to accept help when it is offered and how to come to the aid of others when they need it.”

I really do not believe bad things happen to people for a reason, or because they are meant to learn something from a situation.  Tornados hit hometowns, and cancer strikes individuals and both are devastating.  However, I hope to take a lesson from my hometown, and continue to whole-heartedly accept help when it is offered, and down the road I hope I can equally whole-heartedly reciprocate for others in need.